Puppy Love
by skyflychick
Summary: Ginta has a classic case of puppy love. He developes a crush on the most unlikely person...Kagome! How will he keep this a secret from kouga? Will he ever get the courage to tell her how he feels? WARNING ginkag, slight inukag & kougkag
1. Swept away

**I won't bother writing a long biography for you guys, since I know that most of you will just scroll past it anyways. (Ha-ha, don't worry, I do it too!) So here are the basics. This IS my first real fanfiction, so take it easy on me please! I absolutely love constructive critism, but I can't handle flamers. If it's the pairing that you don't like, than don't even bother to flame AT ALL. I put the pairing in the summary, so it's your own fault, not mine. Also, I would like to stay in touch with my readers, so let me know if you have any thoughts or ideas on my story. Let me know how you want to see the story unfold! It would be a big help to me, and it will help me to keep all of you readers happy as well! **

**I know that I said I wouldn't make this long, but considering the rarity of the pairing that I chose, I thought I would try to explain myself a little. Now I know that this couple is strange, but that's what gives it its flare. This story is for all of you who are tired of reading the average fan fiction, about the same characters. It's a healthy change of pace for anyone who's sick of the same old thing. I got this idea from a challenge, and thought that I would check out the other stories on this site that included this pairing, that way I could see how other authors made it work. I was shocked at how few there were. I couldn't find any others anywhere else on the web either. So I decided to accept this writing challenge, and try to find a way to write a decent story, with a Ginta and Kagome pairing! I'm pretty new at this, but I think I can work with what I've got. **

**(For those of you who want to know, the challenge was: "Write a story about Ginta having a crush on Kagome, and the struggles that he faces because of his feeling towards his leader's intended. He finally gets the courage to do something about it, and tells her how he feels." - I will try to stay within these boundaries, but I really don't know quite where this story is going yet. I might have to step outside the rules a bit, but If the quality of the story depends on it, who really cares?) Anyways, I've rambled on enough! (I know... I said I wouldn't. Sorry!) On with the story!**

**I don't own Inuyasha!**

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_**Key:**_

"Speaking"

**"Thinking"**

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It was sometime after midnight, and Ginta had just taken his post as night watch over the wolf tribe's land. He and a few of the other wolf demons took turns guarding the territory when they weren't out hunting, or searching for Naraku. Kouga wanted to make sure that his lands were never vulnerable to attack. While some found the job to be a minor annoyance, Ginta really didn't mind. He enjoyed the time alone. It allowed him to think. And as much as he loved his tribe, sometimes he just needed his space. After all, he did have a lot on his mind.

Kagome. That was all he ever thought about anymore. At first it was only curiosity. After all, she was a little strange. Certainly not in a bad way, but in a way that just made you wonder about her. She was such a mystery. No one knows where she came from, or how she got here. It was almost as if she were a goddess or an angel sent out on an earthly mission. Perhaps she traveled from a distant land -one far away- where her clothing and personality were nothing out of the ordinary. She was courageous, and intelligent, unlike most of the human women that he knew. She also had a good sense of humor, which was out of the ordinary for _any_ of the women that he knew. He had seen her laughing and joking around with her friends on a few of the rare occasions when they crossed paths. Who would have thought that his curiosity would lead to admiration? Not even he saw that coming. But when his admiration began to turn into something more, he was stunned. It was impossible. He knew that he could never be with her. Not that he was deserving in the first place, but Kouga would have his head if he so much as looked at her in that way. Why was fate so cruel? He had never felt this way about anyone before and there was nothing that he could do, or say to have her. He had given up trying to forget about her. It was pointless. As soon as he pushed the thoughts of her out of his mind, he would see an image of her laughing, or giving one of those sweet, innocent smiles that just made you want to lose yourself. She was beautiful; the most beautiful creature in the world in his eyes. Her glowing personality, her looks, and her brave, courageous nature drew him in like a moth to the flame. Her face was burned into the back of his skull, creating an image of her that he could never erase. No. He couldn't forget her.

Ginta stretched and began to make himself comfortable on the rock that he was perched upon. He knew who he was. He was an underling. Just another one of Kouga's followers.** "Why would Kagome want someone like me anyways?"** Ginta thought sadly. She could do way better. After all, she had the wolf prince himself pining after her. And not to mention Inuyasha, he was another story altogether! He got to spend a great deal of of time with her, unlike the fleeting moments every few weeks that Ginta was able to visit. Who knows if those two have feelings for each other or not? Was it possible that there were more men out there that wanted her as well? He supposed that there were. **"Who wouldn't want to be with her?" **Ginta pondered.

He let out a dejected sigh and hung his head. He was hopeless.

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"SIT!"

Once again, Inuyasha found his face glued to the ground. He had only been trying to get Kagome to put down her books and get some sleep, but she had (of course) refused. Needless to say, Inuyasha did something stupid. He grabbed her books and threw them into the nearby stream. Kagome frantically dove in and managed to retrieve most of them, but her calculus book had been swept away with the current, never to be seen again. When the angry, dripping Kagome emerged from the water, Inuyasha had laughed. That was his next mistake. And that's how he found himself where he was, kissing the dirt like so many times before. He would never learn.

"Thanks a lot Inuyasha." Kagome bit out sarcastically. "You just cost me the chance at getting a decent grade on my exam next week, and a fifty dollar fine for losing that book!" Kagome yelled as she began to dry herself off.

"It's you own fault! You should have been sleeping, not pouring over those damn books again! It's almost 1 am for god's sake! How are we supposed to find jewel shards if you're always needing to stop and rest because you wont sleep at night?" Inuyasha retaliated.

"Excuse me? You have no idea what I have to go through to keep this up! I have responsibilities and obligations in my own time! I put a lot of work into finding those jewel shards, but I have to make _some_ time for school work! Why cant you just understand that?"

"Look, I'm sorry... I guess I over reacted. I just want you to get some rest." Inuyasha said as he looked at the ground. He was just angry, and he let his temper get the best of him. He hated saying sorry, but he knew if he ever wanted Kagome to forgive him than he must. After all, he really did have a hard time understanding Kagome's world, and why school was so important to her. Maybe it was a concept that he couldn't grasp, and he should just take her word for it.

Kagome sighed and accepted his apology. It was a pretty rare occurrence to see Inuyasha apologize, and she wasn't about to let it pass her by.

"Well, I guess I better go a little farther downstream and see if my book washed up somewhere. I might actually be able to salvage it and avoid the lost or damaged fee." kagome said, now in a much softer, less angry tone.

Inuyasha jumped back up into his perch in a nearby tree, muttering a "don't be too long" and watched Kagome's retreating form wander along the bank. He surveyed the surroundings, making sure that there were no nearby dangers, and that the rest of the gang was still resting peacefully. Miroku was leaning against a tree, staff across his lap with a peaceful look on his face, Sango was leaning up against Kirara, and Shippo was balled up in Kagome's sleeping bag thrashing around and snoring loudly. He never was a light sleeper. Inuyasha was pretty amazed that they all managed to be sleeping soundly after his and Kagome's little spat, but he assumed that they were just used to it by now. They did get into a lot of arguments, but they were getting better. Deep down, Inuyasha really did care for her.

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Ginta leapt off of his perch and decided to patrol the borders for a while. There wasn't anything going on around there, and it never hurt to survey the land. It was part of the job to make sure that everything was secure. Plus, it would do him some good to get out and stretch his legs. Maybe that would help to ease his troubled mind- if only for a while.** "I really do love her." **He thought as he walked along. There was no denying it now; he was in over his head. He almost felt pathetic. He stopped by the stream, intending to get a drink of water, and maybe splash some cool water onto his face, when he saw a book float by. "Hmm... that's odd..." He said as he snatched the book out of the water, and shook off as much of the excess water as he could. It appeared to be a bit soggy and water logged, but it was still pretty much intact. It couldn't have been in there for long. It appeared to be a book of advanced mathematics. Maybe it belonged to a scholar or nobleman; although it was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was definatly above his level. Curious, he opened the front cover, hoping to reveal some more information about this mysterious book, or possibly even it's owner. And there, on the first line of the first page was inscribed: _Property of Kagome Higurashi._

Ginta shook his head. **"I must be imagining things."** He thought as he began flipping through the rest of the book, looking for some answers. She had finally gotten to him so badly that he was hallucinating. **"I know that she is smart, but there is no way that she is this advanced... right? And even so, this means that she would have to be nearby, the water damage is very minimal." **He thought as a small, soggy piece of paper flopped out of the book and onto the ground. The ink was smudged, but you could still make out a few of the equations, and the name Kagome Higurashi in the top right-hand corner.

"Whoa..." he said as he put the paper back into the book and snapped it shut."**I guess I was wrong. It turns out I knew even less about her than I thought" **The wind picked up, and the breeze brought in a sweet, calming scent. One that he only recognized as Kagome's. A small smile tugged at his lips. Oh how he loved that scent. He dashed off in her direction. He now had a reason to see her. No one would be upset with him for returning a book... right?

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"Ouch!" Kagome exclaimed as a low branch scraped across her cheek. "Stupid Inuyasha!" I've been looking everywhere for that book, where the hell is it!"

"Looking for this?"

Kagome jumped, making a small screeching noise, and reflexively turned around and bashed the owner of the voice over the head. It was late, and she had been wandering around the forest all night looking for that damn book.

She heard a groan a looked down to see a slightly hurt Ginta crumpled on the ground. "Ow. You can really pack a punch." He said as he laughed good naturedly.

"Oh Ginta I'm sorry!" Kagome said as she bent down to make sure that he was ok. "I didn't know it was you- I guess I just got a little spooked. Sorry!"

Kagome stood up, and Ginta did his best to regain his composure and straighten himself up. "It's ok. Really. No harm done. I was just patrolling the territory when I found this." He said as he lifted up the book. "I thought you might want it back."

"Thanks." She said as she gave a soft giggle. "Inuyasha went on the rampage when I refused to sleep, and stayed up studying instead. He threw all my books into the river. I managed to get most of them back, but this one got away." she said, gesturing towards the book as she took it from his hands. "In case you cant tell, I had to do some swimming!" she exclaimed, pointing to her waterlogged tresses and dripping clothes. It had been a good 30 minutes since she began searching, but the cold, moist, night air hadn't done much to help her soggy appearance. **"Hah." **Ginta laughed to himself. **"She looks kinda cute like that." **He surveyed and form, then gave an audible gulp. He hadn't noticed it before, but the water made her white shirt practically transparent in the moonlight. While she did appear to be wearing another layer of clothing underneath, it was small, and didn't cover much. **"Oh god... This must be some sort of a crazy dream" **He thought as he quickly looked down and tried to hide the blush that was slowly creeping onto his face. Hopefully she wouldn't see it.

All of a sudden, a strong gust of wind picked up, and Ginta could smell Kouga approaching. **"Oh no. And here I thought this situation couldn't get any worse! He must have smelled Kagome's scent on the breeze, and come to see her. He's probably wondering what the hell I am doing out here with her- alone- in the middle of the night!" **He thought frantically as Kouga approached, and slowed to a stop in front of them. "Exactly what do you think you are doing out here with _my_ Kagome while you are supposed to be on patrol?!" Kouga barked out as he glared down at Ginta.

"He was returning this!" Kagome but in as she showed him the book. She told him the whole story about Inuyasha's little temper tantrum, and told him that she had been out searching for it when he found her and gave it back.

"Hmm." Kouga grunted out. "Very well then" he said, stopping to eye Kagome's dripping form. Apparently he had noticed her state of dress, and was pleased with what he saw. "You may leave us Ginta."

Ginta noticed the way that Kouga was looking at her, and saw the lustful gleam in his eyes, but knew better than to protest. He had to keep his cool.

"Go back to patrolling the lands, and no slacking off this time." Kouga spat out, annoyed that Ginta was still standing there. He obeyed, and took off. He knew that Kouga wouldn't do anything to hurt Kagome.

"Well, I better get back to camp now, I've been gone for a while and Inuyasha might start to worry." Kagome said tiredly. She had had quite a night.

"Allow me to escort you. I obviously can't trust Inuyasha to see to your safety. What were you doing out here alone anyways?" Kouga questioned, still eyeing her hungrily. Kagome was beginning to notice his stare, and it was a little unnerving.

"Well, I wasn't planning on going very far, but it turns out that the river's current is much faster than I thought. It managed to carry my book pretty far downstream. I had to come all the way out here to get it back. It would have taken me even longer if Ginta hadn't found it and brought it back to me." "Anyways, I appreciate your offer, but I think I can manage."

"Nonsense. I wouldn't allow my woman to go walking through the forest at this hour of the night alone. I wouldn't want any harm to come to you, my love." He said, watching her nervous expression with a smirk on his face. Kagome gave a short, uncomfortable laugh as he grabbed her hand and began to sniff out their camp, leading them back. Kouga was a little disappointed at her unresponsiveness to him, and began to formulate a plan to win her over.

His thoughts, however, were interrupted by a yell.

"Get your filthy hands off of her you stinking wolf!" Yelled Inuyasha. He noticed that Kagome Had been gone for a long time, and went out looking for her.

"So that's what you were doing out here, huh Kagome?" He said angrily as he too noticed her transparent shirt. "And here I thought you were looking for a book, while you were really out flirting with wolf boy!"

"Calm down mutt, she was looking for her book. One of my henchmen found it, and returned it; and I offered to escort her back to camp since you obviously cant look after her properly. I shouldn't have even brought her back to you. I really should have taken her back to my den. I can protect her better than you!" Kouga argued.

"Shut up you bastard!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Enough, you two!" "It's been a really long night, and I would just like to get back to camp and get some rest. Thank you for walking me back Kouga, and goodnight." "Let's go back Inuyasha, it's probably 3 am now, and I really don't feel like arguing with you anymore. It's been a rough night."

Both men were shocked, but agreed. Kagome climbed on Inuyasha's back, and he sped off, as Kouga watched jealously from where he stood.

**"You **_**will**_** become my mate Kagome."**

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**Ok! And end Chapter! ****I really don't feel that I did very well on this chapter... It is 4:30 on a Thursday morning, and I have to get up in 2 hours, so I kind of rushed the end. I didn't really write this the way that I wanted it to be written. I had some great ideas, but I didn't use them well. I was going to wait until later to write this, but I wanted to get this out there and at least see what you thought of it before I went on any further, or put any more work into it. Let me know what you think, and tell me if you think I should continue or not. Please keep in mind that this isn't my best writing though, you can expect better from me in future chapters (that is if you think there should be future chapters). **

**Thank you for reading!**


	2. The fight

**Please bear with me if anything in this chapter is out of place or doesn't fit perfectly with the storyline. SOMEONE deleted my Chapter 2 (from my computer AND this website) and tried replacing it with chapter 1. It wasn't until weeks later when I finally got my cable back up that I found out about it. Now I have to re-write the entire thing! It's going to be a little bit difficult -considering the fact that I am already working on chapter 7- but I will try to reconstruct the chapter from memory the best that I can. **

**I'm so sorry for those of you that just started reading the story and got confused when you got to chapter 3. Hopefully you'll see that I have corrected the problem (in the best way that I can) and continue to read the story. Thanks everyone! **

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

_**Key:**_

"Speaking"

**"Thinking"**

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RECAP:

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"Enough, you two!" "It's been a really long night, and I would just like to get back to camp and get some rest. Thank you for walking me back Kouga, and goodnight." "Let's go back Inuyasha, it's probably 3 am now, and I really don't feel like arguing with you anymore. It's been a rough night."

Both men were shocked, but agreed. Kagome climbed on Inuyasha's back, and he sped off, as Kouga watched jealously from where he stood.

**"You **_**will**_** become my mate Kagome."**

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The members of the Inuyasha group were finally beginning to awaken from their slumber, and prepare for the day. They were all moving around the camp, collecting their belongings, and starting to cook breakfast over the few flickering flames still burning from the night before. All with the exception of Kagome and Shippou, of course. Kagome was still tired from the night before, and she wasn't ready to wake up just yet. Shippou was only a child, and needed his rest. He was never one to pass up an opportunity to sleep. The group laughed as they watched Inuyasha try to awaken the two. He was jumping, yelling, and prodding at them, but they still wouldn't budge. Shippou made a little snorting sound, and Kagome rolled over, but that was the most movement that he could get out of them. He finally sighed in defeat and joined the rest of the group around the campfire.

"Just let them sleep a little longer Inuyasha; we're not in a hurry." Miroku suggested.

"Yeah, you lazy assses are never in a hurry." Inuyasha grumbled back.

"Come on Inuyasha, there aren't and shard rumors to investigate, or any evil auras check out. What's the point in us wandering around aimlessly? We might as well let them rest up while we are doing nothing." Sango pointed out.

"Whatever." Inuyasha grumbled as Sango passed him some Ramen. They had nothing else to cook for breakfast, so Sango decided that Kagome's instant food would have to do. In all honesty it wasn't that bad, and it got Inuyasha to shut up. She couldn't complain about that.

Kagome finally began stretching and took her place in between Sango and Inuyasha around the campfire.

"Well…How nice of you to grace us with your presence." Inuyasha said sarcastically.

Kagome just playfully rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. She was used to his behavior by now. She knew that he could be a little rude sometimes, but all in all he was really a nice guy.

"Thanks!" Kagome said to Sango as she passed her a bowl of chicken flavored Ramen.

The rest of the morning passed fairly slowly, and finally Shippou got up and ate his food as well. Eventually the group headed out in search of the remaining shards, slowly making their way across the countryside.

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Ginta and Hakkaku ran to the edge of the forest where Kouga told them to assemble a group of about 30 wolf-men. Including themselves and Kouga, they had exactly 30. Finally they saw Kouga run up to them and begin to speak to the group.

"We're stocking up on food for the upcoming spring, since -as you all know- we will have a lot to do. We're going to assemble into small hunting groups of three, that way we can cover enough ground. If there is any game too large for your group, give the signal and others will assist you." Kouga announced to the wolves. The wolf-men started getting into groups, while Ginta and Hakkaku moved in closer to Kouga. They assumed that he would want them to be in his group. Once everyone had found their place, they all scattered in different directions throughout the forest.

Ginta walked quietly along with his comrades, thinking about his current situation. Has _was_ supposed to be Kouga's friend, but right now he just didn't feel that he could trust him. He just had this feeling that Kouga had something up his sleeve, and he wasn't very comforted by the thought that whatever he was scheming probably had something to do with Kagome. **"I know that Kagome and I will never be, but I just don't want Kouga to pursue Kagome anymore. What's so wrong about that?" **Ginta thought as he sighed, realizing just how pathetic that sounded. He wasn't brave enough to 'step up to the plate' and let Kagome know how he felt. If he ever did, Kouga would have his _head_ on a plate. He just couldn't find a way out of this. His only solution was to grin and bear it. Kouga was the leader, and he was the underling. **"That's just the way things are." **Ginta concluded.

The walked along in silence for a while longer, making some small talk about the weather, and some unimportant events taking place back at the den. Finally the moment Ginta had been dreading came along when Kouga asked for advice on how to woo Kagome. He knew it was coming. Now all he had to do was try and keep his mouth shut and not say anything stupid. For right now he was ok, Hakkaku was spitting out all kinds of cliché things that men would normally do to get women to fall in love with them, such as bringing her flowers, or getting her a gift.

"I guess that could work…" Kouga pondered.

"You know, I think your solution is simple." Ginta said slyly. "You should fight with Inuyasha more."

"WHAT?!?" Hakkaku yelled, looking at Ginta like he was crazy. Ginta gave him a somewhat pleading look, then returned his gaze to Kouga, who actually looked a bit intrigued by the whole idea.

"Oh yeah, It's perfect! Not only does that take care of the problem of him interrupting you two, but it shows her that you are willing to fight for her."

"You know, that's not a bad idea." Kouga said, beginning to smirk. He liked the idea of winning Kagome over, and if he got to beat Inuyasha to a pulp while doing so, that just made it all the more enjoyable!

"Be sure to use lots of insults too. It will show her just how manly you are." Ginta added.

Hakkaku groaned and slapped his forehead with his palm. He wasn't sure where this was going, but he was pretty sure that Ginta knew that he was giving bad advice. His only question was… _why? _Kouga was just stupid enough to think that this was a good idea, and he would most likely go along with it. Hopefully Ginta had a purpose in all of this. Because if Kouga's plan fails, he will not be in a good mood.

Kouga walked ahead with a smug look on his face, and Ginta lagged behind, regretting his actions. **"I don't know what's wrong with me. It's like I just can't help myself. I **_**want **_**to sabotage Kouga's plans. He's too harsh and uncaring. He doesn't deserve Kagome. She's so kind, and beautiful, and perfect." **He smiled -a little- as his thoughts drifted to her. Just the thought of her was sure to cheer him up.

They gathered a few small animals, and met back with the rest of the group. All together, they had a decent amount of food. It was enough to last them for a while, at least.

When they got back to the den, Ginta helped Kouga find some flowers and a gift for Kagome (some weeds and a dead bird), and reminded Kouga of his advice. All the while Hakkaku stood in the background slack jawed, wondering just what the hell had come over Ginta lately. With that Kouga was off. Ginta slunk back into the cave with a satisfied smile. **"I know what I did was wrong, but -luckily for me- **_**Kouga **_**doesn't." **Ginta mentally snickered to himself.

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The Inuyasha group was treading along, when Kagome felt the familiar presence of a jewel shard. "I can sense two shards, and they're heading this way fast!" Kagome announced. Suddenly the whole group was on alert. Inuyasha was about to thank their luck (it _has_ been a slow day…) when he decided to more closely examine the situation and take a whiff of the air.

"Oh hell no." Inuyasha muttered as he caught the scent of wolf in the air. He knew exactly why Kouga was here, and he didn't want to deal with that fleabag right now.

A small whirlwind approached the group, and Kouga emerged. Inuyasha had of course taken a protective stance in front of Kagome, but Kouga shoved past him and greeted Kagome with a kiss on the hand.

"Hey, Kouga..." Kagome announced, blushing slightly.

"These are for you." Kouga said, handing her the 'flowers.' Kagome accepted them cautiously, trying to hold them by the stems. They were practically crawling with little black bugs.

"Thanks." She said, smiling politely. She just didn't have the heart to tell him how disgusting it really was. He was just trying to be nice after all

"Only the best for my woman!" He said confidently. (He still had no idea that Kagome found the bug infested weeds repulsive.) The group looked on, holding back their giggles at the scene before them. "And that's not all! Close your eyes." He said. Kagome inwardly groaned, wondering what else he could have in store, but complied with his request. She shut her eyes, and stuck her hands out. Instantly she felt something cool and smooth come into contact with her palm. She ran her fingers over it, and finally realized what it _really_ was. "AHHH!" She screamed as the bird's lifeless body fell to the ground. It was crusted with blood, and it's insides were squirming with ants, worms, and other various types of bugs.

s

Finally, Inuyasha stepped in, pushing Kagome behind him, and swatting the weeds out of her hand. "Don't trust anything this fleabag gives you Kagome." Inuyasha said, then turned his gaze to Kouga. "Just what the hell do you think you are doing? Are you trying to give her a disease, or do you just want to scare her to death?" He lectured.

"Don't you dare tell _my_ woman not to trust me!" Kouga retorted.

"She's not your woman!" Inuyasha yelled back. Kouga punched Inuyasha in the head and knocked him to the ground. Inuyasha then kicked Kouga behind the legs and he hit the dirt with a thump. The two started rolling around, punching, kicking, and cursing.

Kagome stepped away from the pair, laughing and shaking her head. "I'm not even going to say it." She said to the rest of the group as she rolled her eyes. "I really need to wash off all of the dead bird germs, so if you all don't mind I'm going to go find a stream or something to clean up in." She announced. The group acknowledged her request, and Miroku and Sango both gave a nod of understanding. They weren't exactly familiar with the meaning of the word 'germ,' but they knew that holding a dead bird wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. "Call me if this gets too out of hand!" Kagome called out over her shoulder as she walked away.

"We will!" Sango called out. The rest of the group was too enthralled in the fight taking place before them. That was the most action that they had seen all week!

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Kagome walked for about 15 minutes before she found a decent spot to wash up. **"Perfect." **She thought as she grabbed a bottle of soap from her backpack and began scrubbing furiously at her hands. An image of the dead, decaying body of the lifeless bird flashed through her mind, and she began scrubbing harder. **"Seriously, who gets a girl a dead bird as a gift anyways?" **she pondered. She figured that it must be a canine thing. She thought back to the time when she was asked to baby-sit her neighbor's puppy, and remembered how it used to drag dead animals onto the doorstep. At first she found it repulsive, until she realized that it was only trying to 'provide for the family.' In his mind, he considered it to be a kind gesture. She kind of felt bad for Kouga now. He was only trying to be nice, and she freaked out. **"Well, who can really blame me for freaking out? I was forced to hold a bloody corpse!" **She laughed a bit at this, and began to dry her hands. They were clean enough by now. She decided to sit by the bank a bit longer and relax. They had been walking for quite a while now, and it was already late into the afternoon. **"I'll head back in a few minutes. I'm sure that Kouga and Inuyasha are still duking it out anyways. No one will even know that I am gone." **

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Inuyasha and Kouga were still going at it, until Kouga all of a sudden stopped fighting and looked around. "What happened to Kagome?" he asked somewhat frantically.

"She just went to find a stream to wash up in." Sango said to him.

"Don't worry. She'll be back soon." Miroku added in. He knew that she couldn't have gotten too far. She was definitely within hearing range. There really was no reason to fret.

"She should not be allowed to go off on her own." Kouga said in a cruel, possessive tone.

"**Well that's new…" **Miroku thought to himself. The group was a little freaked out by the sudden change.

"I'm going off to find her. She obviously needs me to protect her." He said as he sped off.

"Shut up you stupid wolf! I can protect her just fine!" Inuyasha yelled back. Then he too took off running in the direction of Kagome's scent.

Unfortunately for Inuyasha, Kouga is a bit faster on his feet, and he managed to reach Kagome first.

"Kagome!" Kouga yelled out as he slowed down and walked closer. He found her sitting alone by the bank of the river. "Don't run off like that! You gave us a scare."

Kagome giggled a little and repeated, "I gave you _a scare_? I told everyone where I was going."

"Well, just don't do it again. It's not safe to go running off by yourself."

"Kouga, with all due respect, I don't need a chaperone. I can handle myself just fine. But thank you for your concern."

"Kagome, please. You mean the world to me. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you." Kouga said, trying to fake as much emotion as he could, hoping that it would help to win her over. Obviously the 'gift' and the 'fight' idea was a bust, so now this was basically all he had to go on.

"Look Kouga, you're really nice and everything, but-"

"Kagome, don't speak. I love you. I _want_ you." He whispered as he moved closer. He tried to kiss her, but Kagome turned her head away.

"Kouga, don't... I-" She was about to speak -after all she wasn't trying to be rude, she just wanted a chance to explain herself to him- but he roughly grabbed her and forced her to look at him. He was about to try and kiss her again, and he almost succeeded...

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Hopefully I did a good job at reconstructing that chapter. Sorry that it got deleted! My friend was playing around on my account, and she was trying to edit my story when she accidentally deleted the 2nd chapter. Anyways, I have been so busy that I haven't really had a lot of time to rewrite it. Thanks for the patience, and thanks for the support!


	3. Kidnapped

**Ok, so something REALLY bad happened. I was putting the finishing touches on my next chapter of the story, when my computer kept receiving this message… "DCOM server has terminated unexpectedly and must shutdown." (If any of you know what this means, or how to help me with this then please let me know!) I had saved most of my work already, but now my computer won't turn on long enough for me to even access that document again! It will turn on for about 10 seconds, and then I get the SAME message again! So I borrowed someone else's computer and I am going to re-write the entire chapter from memory. Please be patient with me, it may be a little sloppy or not well written, but I am going to give it a shot- for you guys! I hate starting something and not following it through to the end. From now on, I may have to post shorter, smaller chapters, since I don't have my own laptop that I can access at anytime anymore. At least until I get my computer fixed that is. (I don't see that happening anytime in the near future though; I am a little short on cash.) However, I will probably be able to post them more often in order to make up for it. Anyways, I'm sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter up. I just wanted to let you all know why I am having SO many problems with this. Thank you for being so understanding! I really appreciate you guys not hounding me about this!**

**Also, I decided to delete my Author's note, since it no longer has any relevance. (I already posted the chapter that I was talking about in the note, so it's pointless to keep around any longer.)**

**Ginta doesn't appear in this chapter at all. I'm sorry! However, the next chapter will focus quite a bit on him. (He is one of the main characters after all.) I just have to work him into the story line a little bit. Don't worry- I'm getting there!**

**Anyways, I won't keep you waiting any longer. OOON WITH THE STORY!**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha.**

_Key:_

"Speaking"

"Thinking"

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RECAP:

Unfortunately for Inuyasha, Kouga is a bit faster on his feet, and he managed to reach Kagome first.

"Kagome!" Kouga yelled out as he slowed down and walked closer. He found her sitting alone by the bank of the river. "Don't run off like that! You gave us a scare."

Kagome giggled a little and repeated, "I gave you _a scare_? I told everyone where I was going."

"Well, just don't do it again. It's not safe to go running off by yourself."

"Kouga, with all due respect, I don't need a chaperone. I can handle myself just fine. But thank you for your concern."

"Kagome, please. You mean the world to me. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you." Kouga said, trying to fake as much emotion as he could, hoping that it would help to win her over. Obviously the 'gift' and the 'fight' idea was a bust, so now this was basically all he had to go on.

"Look Kouga, you're really nice and everything, but-"

"Kagome, don't speak. I love you. I _want_ you." He whispered as he moved closer. He tried to kiss her, but Kagome turned her head away.

"Kouga, don't... I-" She was about to speak -after all she wasn't trying to be rude, she just wanted a chance to explain herself to him- but he roughly grabbed her and forced her to look at him. He was about to try and kiss her again, and he almost succeeded...

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Inuyasha was running blindly through the forest trying to find Kagome. He knew that she would be ok- she knew how to take care of herself. She was stronger than Kouga gave her credit for, and to put it simply, he trusted her. After all that they had been through together, how could he not? He didn't however, trust that wolf. And for good reason, too. The scene that he walked in on made his blood boil.

There was Kouga, trying to kiss Kagome while she struggled in his grasp. Kouga was so entranced in what he was doing that he didn't notice Inuyasha come up behind him and rip him back by his ponytail. Not until it was too late, that is. Inuyasha didn't stop there either. He started slashing at him with his claws and kicking him in the ribs and stomach. Normally Inuyasha just stands back and yells profanities at Kouga, but this time it was different. This time he was too angry for words.

By now Kouga had started fighting back, and once again Kagome was getting fed up. While she had considered just leaving them again, she decided against it. This time Inuyasha was really angry, she could see the corners of his eyes beginning to turn red. She didn't want anyone to get hurt; they were fighting over her after all… as stupid as that may be. **"Don't they realize that it doesn't matter who wins? That doesn't mean anything to me. They think that all I care about is 'Who is stronger, or braver, or **_**better.' **_**Do they really think that I am THAT shallow? When will they finally understand that in the end- it's my own decision, regardless of who beats who? I am not some trophy to be won."** Kagome looked over at the battle and shook her head. They both had several cuts and bruises, but nothing that they couldn't handle. They both seemed to be a fairly equal match in terms of strength. When Kagome saw Inuyasha start to pull out his tetsusaiga, she knew that it was time to step in. There was no way that Kouga could defend himself against Inuyasha's sword.

"Stop it you two! Now!" She yelled jumping in between them. They both immediately stopped their advances, Inuyasha lowering his sword and Kouga, backing off just a little.

"Kagome, he was trying to kiss you! I saw you struggling to get away. Just let me finish him off!"

"No Inuyasha. I'm sure Kouga didn't mean any harm, just let him go. I think that it would be best for everyone if Kouga just left." She said with finality. "Kouga, go home. Please."

Kagome had a pleading look in her eye, and Inuyasha just couldn't say no. "Fine." He announced, finally sheathing his sword completely. "You heard the girl. Run home to your little den and don't come back. Next time, I really will kill you." Inuyasha announced. While Kagome may have been letting the little wolf off the hook -again- he was just happy that she was asking him to leave. At least she was on his side this time. She just had a big heart, and she couldn't stand to watch someone get hurt. Especially over her.

"As you wish; dog breath. But I am taking my soon to be mate with me. Sayonara!"

Kagome had no time to react as she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist and the ground disappear from under her feet. She looked up to see Kouga's face smirking down at her as he ran away from Inuyasha faster than she had ever seen him go before. She could hear Inuyasha's voice calling to her, and started to struggle, but it was useless. Kouga had a tight grip on her. He actually seemed to be enjoying the fact that she was squirming around in his arms, so she decided to stop. The thought of it sickened her. **"Oh no, what have I gotten myself into? I shouldn't have let him off the hook so easily. Inuyasha is going to be so angry." **

Kouga had circled around several times to confuse Inuyasha. He didn't want him to be able to track them down so easily. There was no way that Inuyasha could remember the way to his cave from his current location, so he knew that it would only take a few little tricks here and there to throw him off. For a while at least.

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"KAGOME!" Inuyasha yelled as he ran after Kouga's retreating form until he disappeared from view entirely. **"I have to find her. There's no way that that scrawny little fleabag is going to get away with this! Not this time!" **

By now, the rest of the shard hunting group had gotten anxious and decided to follow them. Sango and Shippou arrived on the fire cat, with Miroku following close behind. They all skidded to a stop when they noticed that Inuyasha was the only one there, and that neither Kagome nor Kouga were anywhere to be seen.

"What happened to Kagome?" Shippou asked as he leapt off Kirara's back and onto Miroku's shoulder. "I thought you followed her out here."

"The damned Kouga took off with her." He said through clenched teeth.

"We're sorry Inuyasha; we should have gotten here sooner. I'll scan the area to see if they are nearby." Sango announced before she and Kirara took to the skies in search of their futuristic friend.

"Don't worry Inuyasha. I'm sure that she will be okay. Kouga has kidnapped Kagome before, and she was just fine. Remember?" Miroku said in a soothing manner, trying to calm his troubled friend. He noticed that Inuyasha's breathing was heavy, and he was beginning to make a series of low growls. "Inuyasha, you know that Kouga would never hurt her."

"Miroku, you don't understand. Kouga is becoming more and more dangerous. It is getting close to mating season for canines, and he won't stop until he has her. It doesn't matter what she wants, or says. Not anymore. We have to find her soon, before the start of the spring equinox. Or we'll be too late." Inuyasha announced with a sad look in his eye. He was still confused about his feelings towards Kikyo, but he knew that he loved Kagome. He wanted to ask her to be his mate. Now she may already be with someone else. **"If he hurts her, I don't know what I'll do."**

Miroku nodded, understanding his friends' predicament. They would all have to work extra hard to figure out a way to get Kagome back. Kouga would probably use every trick in the book to keep them from taking her away. Even if they did locate his lands, they would probably be heavily guarded. Even getting within a few thousand feet of Kouga's den would be a challenge. But they would do it for Inuyasha, and for Kagome. If she wanted to be with someone, it would be of her own free will. He was sure that Sango would second that motion; without a doubt. "Let's get moving then Inuyasha. We have seven days left."

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Kouga and Kagome finally arrived at Kouga's den, after hours upon hours of traveling.

"**If it took Kouga that long to get here, who knows how long it will take for the others to find me. They don't even know which direction to head in." **Kagome thought sadly as Kouga skidded to a stop in front of the main den. She truly felt hopeless and out of place. She didn't want to be here. Surely Kouga knew that.

"Please let me return to my friends Kouga. If you were trying to make Inuyasha angry, I'm sure you've already succeeded."

"Kagome, you are not going anywhere. I brought you back here with me because you are my mate, and you belong to me. You will do as I say." Kouga announced in a harshly possessive manner. Kagome had never heard him speak to her like that, and frankly, she was appalled.

"Excuse me? I am not some piece of property!" She shouted as she raised her hand to smack him. Kouga caught her hand though, and forced it back down to her side, laughing.

"You always were the stubborn one. Don't worry. I'll be a better mate to you than that stupid half-breed would. He can't protect you like I can. In time, you'll see that You are far better off with me than you ever were with him."

Kagome felt betrayed. She had always trusted Kouga, and she had even considered him a friend. **"I can't believe this is for real. This is **_**really**_** happening. I don't know when or how it happened, but Kouga has changed. I never thought that Kouga would treat me this way."**

At this point, Kouga began to take her into the cave. Kagome began struggling and squirming, yelling for him to let her go, but it was no use. Kouga's men gathered around to see him bringing back 'his future mate' and egged him on even more. Kagome ignored their whistles and calls and fought harder. There was no way she was going to give in this easily.

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Ok! That's all for now. Sorry! The good news is… I might be able to post some more tonight, maybe even later this afternoon! Who knows? If I get at least ONE review today, I will have the next chapter up by 6:00 tonight. That's a promise. The more reviews I get, the more I write. So PUSH THAT BUTTON! It only takes a second! (Good or bad reviews, it doesn't matter! I don't even care what it says!) Yes, that's how desperate I am. So please make my day! Once again, thanks for reading :)


	4. The plan

**Sorry everyone! For a while there, I accidentally had chapter 3 posted twice! I meant to post **_**this**_** one instead. (The problem should be fixed by the time that you are able to read this though.) Somehow, after I wrote this chapter, the document was destroyed. So now I have to re-write the entire thing –AGAIN! I hope you all REALLY appreciate this! Anyways, I can't make this chapter too long, but I really wanted to get this rewritten before I forget exactly what it is that I want to write. Thank you for the patience! Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

_**Key:**_

"Speaking"

**"Thinking"**

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RECAP:

"Kagome, you are not going anywhere. I brought you back here with me because you are my mate, and you belong to me. You will do as I say." Kouga announced in a harshly possessive manner. Kagome had never heard him speak to her like that, and frankly, she was appalled.

"Excuse me? I am not some piece of property!" She shouted as she raised her hand to smack him. Kouga caught her hand though, and forced it back down to her side, laughing.

"You always were the stubborn one. Don't worry. I'll be a better mate to you than that stupid half-breed would. He can't protect you like I can. In time, you'll see that You are far better off with me than you ever were with him."

Kagome felt betrayed. She had always trusted Kouga, and she had even considered him a friend. **"I can't believe this is for real. This is **_**really**_** happening. I don't know when or how it happened, but Kouga has changed. I never thought that Kouga would treat me this way."**

At this point, Kouga began to take her into the cave. Kagome began struggling and squirming, yelling for him to let her go, but it was no use. Kouga's men gathered around to see him bringing back 'his future mate' and egged him on even more. Kagome ignored their whistles and calls and fought harder. There was no way she was going to give in this easily.

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Ginta and Hakkaku we sitting quietly away from the crowd watching the commotion. You could still see Kouga's back as he carried an angry Kagome to the back of the cave, struggling to break free from his grasp. She was so upset it looked as if she was almost in tears. Ginta had to look away; this just wasn't something that he wanted to see right now. It hurt him to see Kagome like this, knowing that there was nothing he could do about it.

"So I guess Kouga didn't have any luck with sister Kagome then." Hakkaku stated. "Still, I never thought that he would just drag her back here like that." He stated; his eyes still glued to the scene before him. You could tell that he felt sorry for her.

"Yeah." Ginta muttered, looking down at his feet. **"This is all my fault… I am such an idiot. I gave him bad advice on purpose, and now look what he's done. Maybe if I hadn't instructed him to do those things it wouldn't have had to come to this."**

"Ginta, are you okay?" Hakkaku asked, sensing his brother's obvious state of depression. "Something has really been bothering you lately. What is it?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just tired." He replied, hoping that Hakkaku would buy it.

"Well, that's probably because you haven't slept or eaten decently in over a week. Come on Ginta, what is it?"

"I told you, it's nothing. You're imagining things." He stated.

"Really? Am I? Everyone has noticed it. You have been acting moody and depressed for quite a while now. You hardly sleep, and when you do, you wake up in the middle of the night mumbling about _someone_, and say that you have to go out to 'think.' And -if I'm not mistaken- you seem to get pretty upset when Kouga talks about going after Kagome. Tell me, what's going on?" Hakkaku asked, trying to pry some information out of his brother.

"**Oh my god. He mentioned Kagome. Does this mean that he knows? Who am I kidding, of course he knows. It's not like I have done a very good job at being discreet about this. Oh well, I guess I better come clean and hope that he decides not to tell Kouga."**

Ginta pulled Hakkaku farther back away from the crowd, in order to make sure that no one overheard what he was about to say. "Fine. You caught me. I am in love with Kagome." He announced.

Hakkaku's jaw nearly hit the floor. "What?!?" He screamed. "YOU LOVE KA-"

Ginta promptly jumped up and clamped his hand over Hakkaku's mouth. He noticed that a few of the wolf demons had turned to stare at them with a confused look in their eyes.

"I love… karma." Ginta said to the wolves, hoping to cover his tracks. "It always has its way of coming back around!" He said with extra enthusiasm. The wolves looked at him like he was crazy, but eventually went back to their business.

"Thanks for almost broadcasting the fact that I love Kagome to half of the wolf clan." Ginta said as he turned to his brother, giving him a look of annoyance.

"Sorry, but it just came as a bit of a shock. I mean, you_ love_ Kagome. That's a pretty big deal." He apologized.

"Wha… you mean you didn't know?!" Ginta questioned with disbelief. "You _were _talking about Kouga, and Kagome and all that stuff. I thought you had figured it out."

"Actually, no. I thought that you were just jealous that Kouga had found someone for mating season and you hadn't." Hakkaku said sincerely.

"Oh… right." **"Man. I totally forgot about mating season." **Ginta thought to himself. **"Oh no. that means…"**

"Ginta?" Hakkaku asked. "What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know. There's not really much I can do." Ginta replied sadly**. "I just wish that there was some way that I could help her. I know that she doesn't want to be here. Kouga will never agree to let her leave. "**

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Kouga gently tossed the angry girl onto a pile of furs located in a private den in the back of the cave.

"This is my room." He said with a smile.

Kagome scanned the room, but didn't find that there was much to look at. While it was a fairly decent size, it wasn't very well furnished. There was a pile of furs on the floor (which she was currently seated on) and a torch that helped to light the room. There was a door flap made of fur that blocked the entrance, and which gave the room a little bit more privacy than the rest of the cave.

"I hope you like it here. This will be your room too from now on."

"Kouga; enough! I have to go. Please just stop this. You know as well as I do that I cannot stay here." Kagome stated. She was beyond agitated now. She was totally pissed.

Any angry look flashed across Kouga's face as he pounced on top of the startled Kagome. "Listen to me_, Kagome_. Mating season starts in just a few days, and I have chosen YOU. You will be my mate. You no longer have a choice." He growled viciously as he began to kiss her. He shut his eyes and leaned in closer, trying to deepen the kiss, but Kagome wouldn't allow it. She thrashed and wiggled around; trying desperately to make him stop. Again, this only caused him to laugh. "Don't worry love. We'll save the rest of that for later." He winked as he jumped off and turned to walk away.

"I must leave you now. Night is approaching and I still have a few things to take care of. Don't try to sneak off; I will have guards posted outside this door."

Kagome could see the door flap swing back into place as he exited the room. As promised, she heard him order 2 guards to stand watch outside the door. She could hear a muffled 'do not let anyone in or out of this room with the exception of me' and felt her anger swell even more so than before. **"How could he do this to me? I thought we were friends." **She let a single tear of betrayal and frustration slip and fall down to the cold stone floor below. "Please come for me Inuyasha." Kagome whispered as she lay down and slowly drifted off to sleep.

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"Inuyasha! It's well after sundown; let's just call it a day!" Shippou huffed out in a defeated tone. "You have been trying to find their scents for hours. If there were any scent trails to pick up on, you would have found one by now!"

"Shut up runt! I'm not giving up on her!" Inuyasha yelled, with his nose still stuck to the ground. Sango had come back to the group long ago, but unfortunately she was unable to find any sign of Kouga or Kagome's whereabouts.

"Maybe he's right Inuyasha. You look wrecked. I know that you've had a rough day. Continuing to search for her in the hazy, sleep deprived state that you are in now can only serve to further hurt your chances of finding her." Miroku said.

"Yeah, I think a goodnight's rest will do you some good." Sango added. "We can pick up right here first thing in the morning."

"Fine! But we are going to be out here at the crack of dawn, and I don't want to hear any complaining!" He yelled out. He was angry, but only at himself**. "I shouldn't have let this happen in the first place. Maybe Miroku and Sango are right."** He thought bitterly. He could use some rest, after all he did take a bit of a beating from Kouga today… not that he would ever admit that.

The gang found a nice clearing, and settled down to sleep. Inuyasha of course leapt up into a nearby tree, perched conveniently above the makeshift campsite. He took one last glance over at Kagome's abandoned belongings, and felt a pang of guilt. **"I only have 7 days starting tomorrow before the mating season starts. I know that Kouga won't waste any time after that. Please be safe Kagome. I promise I will find you." **These were Inuyasha's last thoughts before he too, drifted off into an uncomfortable sleep.

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Hakkaku was still questioning Ginta on his 'situation' a little bit more, but this time in a more light hearted manner.

"So THAT'S why you gave Kouga all that horrible advice on wooing women!" Hakkaku laughed out. "I thought you had gone mental when you said that Kagome would appreciate a dead bird as a gift."

"Hah. Yeah. Although I'm not really proud of what I have done, I guess it was a little funny. Kouga is so gullible." Ginta joined in.

"Ginta, you know that you have to forget about her… right? As much as I hate to say this, you_ have_ to move on. This is Kouga we're talking about here. If you try to challenge him on this, you will lose."

"Yes, I understand that. I just don't want to see Kagome get hurt. Kagome doesn't know anything about wolf demon society, or mating season for that matter. And somehow, I don't think Kouga is going to give her the benefit of the doubt." Ginta replied. He had already come to terms with the fact that he and Kagome would never be together, but he still had feelings for her.

"Look, I think that I might have a way that I can help you out. Kouga has to meet with the wolf demon council in the North before the turn of spring. You know that he is going to want someone watching out for Kagome at all times, so I'll see if I can convince him to let you be her main guardian in his absence. However, NOTHING is to happen between you two. I am just doing this so that you can talk with her, and get some closure on your feelings for her. Try to fill her in on the way things happen around here, and sort of ease her into the situation. I'm sure it will help to make things easier for her in the long run, and it will help you to feel better too, knowing that she is not so unhappy. Fair?"

"Yes, thank you!" Ginta replied happily. "Just please don't tell Kouga that-"

"Tell me what? Said Kouga, as he approached the pair. "And where have you two been? I've been looking for you all night."

"Oh, we were just talking." Ginta replied. "So, was that Kagome that I saw here earlier?" He added, hoping to change the subject.

"Yeah. That advice that you gave me didn't work so well… but I got her here none the less." Kouga stated. "That's actually what I came here to tell you two. You have to make sure that Inuyasha does not get anywhere near these grounds. He WILL come looking for her. I need you two to make sure that guards are posted and on call at all times. It's too close to mating season, and I don't want that mutt anywhere near her." He bit out.

"Sure Kouga. Anything you say." Hakkaku agreed.

"Also, make sure that Kagome does not escape. I want to make sure that she does not leave the territory at ANY time."

Ginta noticed that Kouga's stare was directed at him as he said this, and he grudgingly agreed. He wished that he could let Kagome escape, but he knew that it would not be allowed. Kouga would kill him for it.

"You know, I just love the spring." Kouga said as he sat down and began to relax a little more. "And this is sure to be a great year." He said with a smile on his face. "Kagome is going to make a great mate for me." He said dreamily.

Ginta got up and left. He was really trying to control his anger, but he just couldn't help it. **"Hopefully Hakkaku is right. Maybe all I need is the chance to talk to her a little, and I will be able to move on." **He thought as he made his exit through the front of the cave.

"What's gotten into that guy?" Kouga asked, leaning back against the cave wall.

"Oh, he just has some things to take care of. No big deal." Hakkaku said. "Hey, Kouga, are you going to meet with the wolf demon council up north this year? You don't want to miss it. They make a lot of decisions for the upcoming year, and you don't want to be left out."

"Well, considering everything that has been going on lately, I was thinking of forgoing it. But, I guess you're right. I don't want to appear like a weak leader, not even bothering to show up. "He said. "I'm counting on you and Ginta to be in charge, Hakkaku. As long as you two are sure that you can handle it, I will go."

"Of course. Ginta and I will personally see to Kagome's happiness and well being." Hakkaku assured him.

"Good. Now that's what I like to hear. If there is nothing else, I think I will go and get some sleep. I will have to leave first thing tomorrow morning." Kouga said as he got up and stretched, making his way back to his private den.

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Kouga pushed the door flap aside, and strode into his room, telling the guards that they could leave. He smiled as he saw Kagome sleeping peacefully in his bed. **"Now I could get used to this."** He thought as he climbed in beside her and wrapped his arms around her waist. **"This is going to be a good spring indeed." **

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**Done! For now that is. I feel like I could have done a little better on this chapter, but I was a bit pressed for time. Sorry. I'll try to come back and ********clean things up a bit later. Remember to review! Let me know what you think! **


	5. The journey begins

**Ok everyone; this story WILL NOT be put on hold; and for two reasons. One, you are all AMAZING! (My reviewers I mean.) I had no idea that you were all so interested in the story! I honestly thought that no one was reading it. Lol. Reason two, someone fixed my computer! YEAH! So thanks to my awesome computer wiz friend, you all won't have to worry about me discontinuing the story anymore. Not only can I save all of my writing now, but I can go back and work on it whenever I want. So you can expect more updates out of me from now on! I'd say a chapter or two a week; but I'm not promising anything. Anyways, keep those reviews coming and I'll keep the writing coming! Thanks again: )**

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

_**Key:**_

"Speaking"

**"Thinking"**

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RECAP:

Kouga pushed the door flap aside, and strode into his room, telling the guards that they could leave. He smiled as he saw Kagome sleeping peacefully in his bed. **"Now I could get used to this."** He thought as he climbed in beside her and wrapped his arms around her waist. **"This is going to be a good spring indeed." **

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Kagome awoke early the next morning to find a slumbering Kouga wrapped around her. She sighed and attempted to move out of his grasp, but he reflexively tightened his arms around her, pinning her in place against his chest.

"**I feel like I barely know him anymore. He's become so territorial and overly possessive. It's not like I even agreed to be his girlfriend in the first place. I guess that doesn't really matter to him anymore." **Kagome thought sadly as Kouga began to stir next to her. **"What's happened to him?"**

"Good morning Kagome." Kouga said cheerfully as he stretched out and began to rise.

"**I guess he's noticed I'm awake." **Kagome thought, throwing her plan of pretending to be asleep out the window. She was hoping to use that one to avoid him for a while longer. "Um…good morning Kouga."

"I am saddened to tell you that I must leave you today Kagome. I have a meeting in the North that I must attend. You will be well taken care of here, but you will not be allowed to leave." Kouga said, now standing over Kagome fully.

Kagome sat up quickly, angered by his words. She considered yelling at him again, but quickly changed her mind, remembering what happened last time. **"He's way too stubborn. There is no changing his mind at this point. I guess I should just be happy that he is leaving." **She thought.

"Ok." She said finally. She could figure out another way to escape once he was gone. For now, all she had to do was convince him that she was okay with everything… okay with _him._

"I'm glad that you're finally coming around. I guess you've realized that fighting will get you no where." Kouga said with a smirk.

"Sure..." Kagome replied, trying to keep her answer short. She was angry, and she didn't want that to show through. She knew that would just make things worse.

"I am very happy to hear that. This will surely make things easier for everyone in the long run." Kouga replied as he turned to leave. Kagome was fuming, but held her tongue. Normally she would never have put up with his vitriolic attitude, but she seemed to be pretty much out of options at this point.

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The sun had barely risen yet, but Inuyasha was already making his rounds. He was shaking Miroku, and yelling at Sango. He _really _wanted to get an early start. Thankfully the gang understood, and didn't complain. Within minutes they were all awake, packed, and ready to go. They knew that Inuyasha was having a hard time with this, and they wanted to give him as much support as they could. Plus, they were anxious to find their friend also. They could only hope that she was safe and well, within the wolf's care. If not, there would be hell to pay when they _did_ find him.

"Let's get going." Inuyasha commanded. Regardless of his obvious lack of rest, he was still ready to push on. He didn't get much sleep, and the sleep that he did get was definitely troubled, but he didn't care. He wasn't going to let that slow him down; not when Kagome was involved anyways.

The group set off once again in search of their friend, hoping that they would have some luck in finding her today. It almost didn't feel right not having her around, she was like their family. They all missed her, and were praying for her safe return.

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"Hey guys." Kouga yelled out as he ran up behind Ginta and Hakkaku.

"Hey Kouga. are you heading out yet?" asked Hakkaku.

"Yeah, I want to get an early start." He replied. "Are you sure that you two have everything taken care of?"

"Sure do!" They both replied.

"Ok, well I won't waste any more time sitting around here then. Just make sure to keep a close eye on Kagome for me. And watch out for Inuyasha too. I'm not quite sure what kind of tricks he has up his sleeve, but if he finds a way to track her down, he will try to take her back." Kouga said, growling out the last part. Even the thought of someone taking Kagome away from him made him angry.

"Don't worry about a thing Kouga, we have it under control!" Ginta replied. He was so relieved that Kouga was leaving, and he couldn't help but be a little excited about it.

The two wished Kouga a safe journey and watched as he sped off to the North.

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Kagome was still sitting there, wondering what she should do next. She was still new to this place, and she felt a little uncomfortable. Kagome turned to her right when she heard the door flap open, surprised to see Ginta standing there in front of her.

"Hi Kagome." Ginta said as cheerfully as he could. He could see that she was still angry and upset with the situation that she was in, so for now he was going to make it his personal mission to cheer her up.

"Hi Ginta, it's nice to see you again." She said smiling back.

Ginta felt his heart flutter at her words. Even though she probably didn't mean anything by it, it was still nice to hear. He _was_ hopelessly in love with her after all. It didn't take much more than a kind word, or one of her beautiful smiles to win him over. He was really glad that he was going to get the chance to spend some time with her.

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**OK! That's it for now! Sorry. I was going to write a little more, but I just don't have the time. Unfortunately I have another paper to write on poetry, and the evolution of language **_**throughout**_** poetry. Yeah, I know… it sucks. Anyways, sorry that this chapter was so rushed, but I will try to have the next chapter up for you by Monday or Tuesday. Maybe sooner… who knows? Thanks again for reading! And I appreciate all of the support you all have given me!**


	6. The search continues

**Wow… I'm actually running ahead of schedule for once! I thought you guys deserved it for being so **_**incredibly**_** nice in your reviews. I'm not sure if you truly understand what it means to me to hear such kind words about my writing. To be honest- I just do it for fun! I may not be the best writer in the world, but the fact that you all appreciate it anyways means SO much to me. **

**Anyways; enough with the cheesy-ness…Lol. If you have any requests for future chapters in the story, then **_**please**_** let me know. I like to keep my readers happy! Also, when I finish this story (hopefully sometime within the next month) I want to start a new one. I might even start working on it sooner, in my spare time. If any of you want to see a new story with a particular pairing, or style, (etc.) then let me hear it! I would be glad to hear any and all suggestions! I love to write, but I'm not sure what direction I want to go in with this next story. I'm willing to take anything into consideration at this point. So don't be shy! **

**Thanks again for reading!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

_**Key:**_

"Speaking"

**"Thinking"**

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RECAP:

"Hi Ginta, it's nice to see you again." She said smiling back.

Ginta felt his heart flutter at her words. Even though she probably didn't mean anything by it, it was still nice to hear. He _was_ hopelessly in love with her after all. It didn't take much more than a kind word, or one of her beautiful smiles to win him over. He was really glad that he was going to get the chance to spend some time with her.

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"And those are the outer bounds of the territory on the Northern Side." Ginta said, pointing out past the tall grasses and towards the cliffs. He had just finished showing Kagome the caves, and the outer bounds of the territory.

"You don't have to feel confined to the den." Ginta announced. "There will be plenty of guards on post during the day, so you will be safe." He said, trying to make sure that she knew she would not be _quite_ as restricted in freedom as Kouga made it seem. He did have to follow Kouga's orders, especially with all of the other wolves around… but he could let a _few_ things slide. He would make sure that she stayed safe. There was no use in making her feel like a prisoner here.

"Wow. Kouga sure has stepped up the security on this place." Kagome replied. "What are we on lock down or something?"

"No." He replied. "But don't worry about it too much. To be honest, none of us are really used to this. We usually only have one or two guards on watch at one time."

"Then this… this is all because of me?" Kagome questioned, looking down at her feet. She wasn't sure why Kouga was so bent on having her all to himself, but she really didn't want to be with him. Not that way at least. The fact that he would go to such extremes kind of scared her. **"No matter what Kouga says, I don't think that I could ever love him. Not after the way he treated me."**

"Don't take it the wrong way." Ginta said. He was beginning to sense her discomfort and sadness, and he didn't want to be the one to make her upset. "He just really cares for you." He said quietly.

"I'm not so sure about that." Kagome said, as she sat down on a nearby slab of rock. "If he does, he has a funny way of showing it."

"Well, he's just… not a very patient person. He needs time." Ginta didn't like making excuses for Kouga. In fact, he hated it. He didn't feel that Kouga had a right to treat her disrespectfully, and the fact that he was trying to justify Kouga's actions made him feel like an ass. But what else could he do? He needed to make Kagome feel better about the situation that she was in, and he needed to make sure that he stayed loyal to Kouga in doing so. For him, it was no easy task.

Ginta watched as the wind picked up, tossing Kagome's beautiful raven locks around her face. The soft tresses finally settled over her shoulders as the breeze began to die down. **"She's so beautiful." **He thought, gulping slightly. **"I hate seeing her looking so hopeless."**

Kagome noticed that he was looking at her, and flashed him one of her radiant smiles. You could tell that there was no real emotion behind it, but it was still gorgeous in his mind.

"**God help me…" **Ginta thought as he sighed, and situated himself on the rock next to Kagome. "Look, I'm really sorry about everything. I'm not trying to say that I think any of this is right, but there's just no changing Kouga's mind." He said in a low whisper, looking around to make sure that no one else heard what he said. There were a few wolves milling around the outskirts of the territory, but no one seemed to have been paying much attention to their conversation.

It was calmly silent for a moment, until Ginta broke the silence. "Kouga assigned me and Hakkaku to personally to watch over you." Ginta informed her, trying to change the subject.

"So… he wants you two to make sure that I don't escape." Kagome said with realization. "He's _really _serious about this, isn't he?"

"That may be his motive, but that has nothing to do with me. I truly just want to help you out. Honestly, if there is anything that I can do for you -anything at all- just let me know." He said sincerely.

"Thanks." Kagome responded. "You probably don't believe this, but that is really nice to hear."

"Oh, it's nothing." Ginta said blushing slightly. Luckily for him, Kagome didn't notice.

"No, really. It means a lot to me. Thank you." She gushed, lightly touching his arm in a friendly manner. She was happy to have someone that she could rely on while she was here. Ginta was blushing even worse by now, but Kagome didn't seem to realize the effect that she was having on him.

"I-I'm glad to be of assistance." He said, trying to hide the fact that his face was as red as a tomato and his heartbeat had accelerated considerably. It was funny that such an innocent gesture could do that to him. Maybe it was her close proximity, or maybe it was the fact that he couldn't do anything about it. Maybe it was a combination of the two… who knows?

"Ginta!" One of the wolves yelled from the mouth of the cave. "We need you in here!" He yelled again as he ducked back into the cave, looking like he was struggling with something.

"Well, it looks like I'm needed back at the cave." He said. "I better go… If you need me, just yell." With that he jumped up and jogged back to the cave to see what the all the commotion was.

Kagome sighed and leaned back onto the rock, smiling as a few of the sun's rays poked through the clouds, warming her arms and face. **"Maybe this won't be the nightmare that I thought it would be." **

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Inuyasha and the group pressed on, feeling hopeless and worn out… once again.

"How the hell did they just disappear like that?" Inuyasha yelled. "We'll never find her at this rate." He complained.

"Maybe we're heading in the wrong direction." Shippou suggested.

"We'll I'm not sure which direction Kouga's cave is in, but wondering around aimlessly probably won't do us any good. Maybe we should try asking around?" Miroku suggested.

Sango nodded her head. "I think that sounds like a good idea. All this searching is getting us nowhere." She agreed.

Inuyasha was about to retort, disagreeing as always, but stopped as a familiar scent hit his nose. **"It can't be…" **he thought raising his nose to the wind to better investigate the source of the smell.

Before they knew it, a small whirlwind came twisting across the land, picking up dust and small stones, flinging them out of the way as it moved. The whirlwind came to a sudden halt in front of the group, and a smug looking Kouga stepped forward.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't that pathetic little puppy." Kouga said .

"Where is she you bastard!?" Inuyasha demanded as he drew his sword and stepped closer to the wolf.

"You'll never find her." Kouga said. "Give up while you still can. She's mine, you got that mutt?"

Inuyasha felt his anger begin to rise, and rose his sword up over his head. Kagome wasn't here to sit him into the ground. Nothing was going to stop him from killing this pathetic little wolf this time.

"Inuyasha stop!" Sango yelled.

"**Damn it." **Inuyasha mentally cursed. "What is it this time?" He asked in an annoyed voice, as he lowered his sword.

"If you kill Kouga, then you are destroying our only link to Kagome. Think about it. He _knows_ where she is. That's more than any of us can say at this point." She informed him.

"I hate to admit it Inuyasha, but she's right. Killing Kouga won't do us any good." Miroku added.

Inuyasha hated to admit defeat, especially to this lowlife, but he didn't have any other choice. Sango and Miroku were right.

"Hah!" Kouga laughed, obviously overhearing their conversation. "As if I would tell you anything. Sorry puppy, but I have official business to attend to; I don't have any time to sit here chatting with you idiots." With that said he sped off again, quickly disappearing from sight.

"Well a hell of a lot of good THAT did us!" Inuyasha bit out, directing a pretty evil looking glare towards the other members of the group.

"Maybe we're not out of luck…" Shippou said, leaping off his perch in Miroku's shoulder and sticking his nose to the ground. "I think I can smell the trail that he left behind on his way over."

Inuyasha watched Shippou for a moment, letting the information sink in, then he too pressed his nose to the ground and began tracking the scent.

"If we find out which way he came from, we may be able to find out where he hid Kagome." Miroku realized.

"Well let's get going!" Sango said with a newly restored sense of hope. **"Maybe we will be able to find her in time." **

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Sorry this one wasn't longer, but this is all I have time for right now. At least I got the story line to progress a little. Remember, the more reviews, the sooner I post the next chapter!


	7. Six days

**I'm sooo sorry that I didn't get this chapter up for you all sooner! I know I promised that I would, and I feel really bad about it. I really do appreciate all of the reviews that you all have written me, and thank you so much for taking the time to do that. **

**My internet has been down for like 2 weeks! I'm in the process of moving and my cable company shut the cable off earlier than they were supposed to. Plus, I have been spending most of my spare time packing, un-packing, and driving. Between that and work there hasn't been a lot of spare time for writing. (I know, I know… I always have an excuse. : ) I will try to make this chapter longer if I can, just because of how nice and patient you all have been. In the future I will try to update more often. **

**Thanks again for reading! On with the story!**

Disclaimer: (once again…) I DO NOT own Inuyasha.

_**Key:**_

"Speaking"

**"Thinking"**

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RECAP:

"Maybe we're not out of luck…" Shippou said, leaping off his perch in Miroku's shoulder and sticking his nose to the ground. "I think I can smell the trail that he left behind on his way over."

Inuyasha watched Shippou for a moment, letting the information sink in, and then he too pressed his nose to the ground and began tracking the scent.

"If we find out which way he came from, we may be able to find out where he hid Kagome." Miroku realized.

"Well let's get going!" Sango said with a newly restored sense of hope. **"Maybe we will be able to find her in time." **

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Ginta sighed and plopped down on a pile of furs that was being stored in the corner of the main den. Apparently one of the wolves thought it would be a good idea to taunt a few of the other, weaker wolves; and as the 'man in charge' when Kouga was gone, it was Ginta's job to break up the fight. None of the wolves wanted to be the first to back down, so his job was no easy task. Needless to say he was a little exhausted.

"**I'm glad to be done with that ordeal."** Ginta thought tiredly. **"The whole thing was a little ridiculous, but at least it got me out of an awkward situation. I know that Kagome doesn't know how I feel about her; but that doesn't make it any easier for me to ignore my feelings." **Ginta thought, a little depressed. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy spending time with Kagome, but when he was around her he always ended up making a fool out of himself. He would blush, or stammer, or end up doing something that he wasn't supposed to. (Like tell her that Kouga was wrong, even though he is Kouga's 'underling.') **"God, when am I going to stop making such an ass out of myself?" **

"Hey Ginta, is something wrong?" Hakkaku asked as he walked over to his depressed and slightly angry looking friend.

"Nothing that I'm not used to." He replied.

"Ginta, you still have 6 days until Kouga gets back; 6 days until the turn of spring. Try to cheer up a little."

"Yeah, and what happens after that? I just have to forget about everything? Forget about her? I could never live with myself." He stated. "I know that she doesn't want to be here, Hakkaku. She doesn't want to be with Kouga. You saw for yourself when she was dragged back here kicking and screaming. Any idiot could see that she wasn't happy."

"I'm sorry Ginta, but when Kouga comes back, you will have to let her go. You agreed that was for the best." Hakkaku argued back.

"The best for whom? For you? For me? For Kouga? Well, certainly not for Kagome!" Ginta shouted. He was loud enough to get his point across, but not so loud as to attract any of the other wolves' attention. They were still trying to keep this whole thing a secret. Ginta felt bad for yelling at his friend, but he was just so stressed out that he had to vent about it.

"Ginta, I'm sorry that you are having such a hard time with this, but sooner or later you will have to face the facts. There is nothing more that you can do. You'll just have to try and make the best of a bad situation."

"You're right Hakkaku. I'm sorry." Ginta apologized.

"Aw, it's alright. You're just lucky that you're my best friend. If not I would have been stomping your ass for talking to me like that!" He laughed. Ginta chuckled a bit at too, much to Hakkaku's surprise. He had been so gloomy lately that he though Ginta had lost the ability!

"I know you're depressed. I can't say that I blame you. I don't know what I would do in your situation! But I think I may know of something that can cheer you up; for the time being, at least…" Hakkaku said as he glanced up, trying to get Ginta to follow his example. When he finally did, he saw Kagome walk through the mouth of the cave and was awed. The setting sun surrounded her like a halo; encompassing her beauty and making her look like a true goddess. Hakkaku smiled and walked away, pretending that he had something to take care of. He wanted to give Ginta as much time with Kagome as he could get. He only had a few days left after all.

"Hi there Ginta." Kagome said cheerfully as she approached him.

"H-hi." He said sheepishly back. He then scooted over to make some room for her to sit next to him on the pile of furs. She smiled at him, silently thanking him for the kind gesture, and took a seat next to him.

"So, how do you like the grounds?" Ginta asked.

"It's really beautiful out here." She answered back. "You can't see nature like this where I come from."

"**I wonder where she **_**does**_** come from." **Ginta thought, but decided not to ask. She obviously kept it a secret for _some_ reason. "Yeah, there really is a lot of forestation up on these mountains." He said.

It was silent for a few moments, but it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable. Kagome was actually enjoying the atmosphere; watching the wolves running about and carrying on with their daily activities, and Ginta was just enjoying Kagome's company. He felt complete when he was with her. He actually felt…happy. That was a big accomplishment for him, considering the fact that he hadn't been too well acquainted with that emotion since he realized that he was in love with someone that he could never have. But he wasn't going to think about that now. He still had six days to spend with her. Six days to figure out how to make her happy. That may not be the lifetime that he wished he could spend with her, but it would do. **"Six days is better than nothing I suppose."** He thought optimistically, for the first time in months.

Kagome was still a little confused about her place here, but she was glad that she had someone to show her the ropes. She was glad that she had Ginta to help her feel more at home. She didn't really know anyone, and there weren't many other women around the den. She didn't know for sure that there weren't any, but she had yet to see them. And when it came to Kouga, he actually took her side. He tried to remain loyal to his leader, but she could tell that he was trying his best to let her know that he agreed with her, without letting anything slip. **"He really is kind."** She thought, glancing up at him. She noticed that he looked serene and peaceful, and wondered what he could be thinking about.

A loud howl could be heard and all of the wolves began to run towards the center of the cave. A slight scuffling noise could be heard as some of the wolves started dragging a giant bundle towards the crowd.

"That means that it is mealtime." Ginta explained, noticing the look of confusion on Kagome's face. "You must be starved. You haven't eaten since you got here."

"Yeah." She said. She _was _hungry, but she was kind of afraid to eat anything. She knew that wolves ate raw meat, and she just didn't think that she could stomach it, now matter how hungry she was. But those thoughts fled from her mind as Ginta grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the growing mass of wolves and wolf-men in the center of the cave. Ginta noticed the slightly panicked look on Kagome's face as they got closer. The wolves were simply digging into the raw flesh of a giant boar, blood dripping from their mouths. The sight actually sickened_ him_. **"She must think that we're barbarians." **He though somewhat sadly, hoping that she didn't see that as any reflection on him.

"You know what, why don't you wait over here?" Ginta asked, pulling Kagome away from the group and over to one of the fires burning throughout the cave. There were a few logs grouped around it that were supposed to serve as benches, and Kagome gladly took a seat. She was glad to be away from that horrific scene of mutilation. Ginta walked back over and sliced off a few slabs of meat for the two of them. He made sure to avoid anything with hair or teeth marks. He then walked over and retrieved a spit from the area of the den that they used for storage (since most of the wolves obviously preferred their meat uncooked, they rarely used it) and returned to where Kagome was sitting. He then put her portion of meat on the spit and started to roast it for her.

Kagome watched his actions, feeling almost completely ridiculous. **"Honestly, I'm sure he has better things to do than baby-sit me." **Kagome thought. Not that she wasn't appreciative, she was just sure that this wasn't the way the he wanted to spend his week. "Thank you so much Ginta." Kagome said, feeling like a burden.

"It's nothing really. To be honest, I prefer my food to be fairly clean myself. I can't stand just tearing into it like that. Although I usually don't cook my food. As a wolf demon I usually just eat mine raw. I hope that doesn't bother you. Because if it does I can wait until later." Ginta said.

"Of course it doesn't bother me!" She said quickly. "I know that I may be new here, but don't feel that you have to change the way you do things just for me. You have already done so much to help me adjust. I'm just glad that you aren't getting sick of me. I know that I must be a pain."

"Not at all!" He said. He wanted to try and convince her of it a little more –he hated the fact the she thought she was a burden on him- but he didn't have the chance. Hakkaku and a few of the other wolf-men approached and seated themselves next to Ginta and Kagome.

"Hi Hakkaku. Nice to see you again." Kagome said cheerfully.

"Nice to see you again too. How have you been holding up?" Hakkaku asked.

"I'm doing okay…for now anyways." She replied, smiling to lighten the mood. She didn't want to make herself appear distressed or unhappy, especially when they were all treating her so nicely; but she wasn't exactly thrilled that she was forced to be 'Kouga's little captive.'

One of the other wolf-men that walked over with Hakkaku cleared his throat, trying to get Hakkaku's attention. He looked to be about the same age as Ginta, only a little taller and he had short, spiky black hair that covered his entire scalp.

"Sorry, where are my manners? Kagome, this is Kenji." He said gesturing towards the black haired wolf demon. "And this is Shiro." He said as he nodded his head to the side, introducing her to another wolf demon with red and white hair. He was shorter than most of the other wolves, but he had the muscular build to make up for it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Kenji said as he grabbed Kagome's hand and planted a soft kiss on it, his eyes never leaving her face. Kagome looked away, trying to hide her blush and retracted her hand. Ginta was fuming with anger, but kept it in check. After all, he couldn't blow up in front of _Kagome. _Now THAT would be a nightmare.

"Kenji, this is Kagome. Kouga's intended mate." Hakkaku said, trying to get the message across to Kenji that he should not be so touchy feely. Fortunately, he backed off a bit, but kept his glare on her form.

"It's nice to meet you too Lady Kagome." Shiro said, giving a little wave from across the fire and rolling his eyes at Kenji.

"Thanks. You can just call me Kagome though. I've never cared much for formalities."

"Kagome it is then." He said with a smile. He could already tell that he was going to like this girl.

"Well, I have to show these two to their posts. They're on guard tonight. I just wanted to stop by and make sure that all was going well with you." Hakkaku said, beginning to rise.

"Well thanks. I assure you that I am doing fine." She said with a smile. "See you later, boys." She said waving at the other two.

"You know, you can visit me if you want." Kenji said to Kagome "I'll be on guard allll night." He said as his eyes swept over her body.

Hakkaku made an annoyed sound and gave Kenji a little shove towards the mouth of the cave, letting him know that it was time to leave. Finally the trio walked away, and Kenji turned his head and yelled "that offer is still open if you are interested!" as he made eye contact with Kagome, who just looked a little freaked out. When they were finally out of earshot, Kagome busted out laughing.

"Well that was a little _weird_." She commented.

"Yeah, don't mind him. That guy can be a little obnoxious sometimes." Ginta said. He was still angry at Kenji, but he couldn't let Kagome find that out. Imagine what would happen if she found out that he was jealous over her!

By now Kagome's food was thoroughly cooked, and the two ate in peaceful silence. When they were done, they sat around the fire for a few minutes watching the flames flicker and burn. Ginta's mind kept drifting back to Kenji's lustful stares, and he accidentally let some of his emotions slip through. His eyes were angry, yet sad at the same time. Kagome watched his face change, wondering what was going on in his head. It wasn't until he started snarling that Kagome realized that something was not right.

"Ginta, is everything ok?" She asked, looking up into his eyes. The soft glow of the fire illuminated her face, as she scooted a bit closer and put her hand in his shoulder.

Ginta snapped out of it when he felt her delicate fingers on his skin, and his gaze returned to the normal soft, caring one that he has always used with her. "Huh? O-oh. Yeah. I'm fine." He stuttered out. He felt like slapping himself. **"How could I be so stupid? I can't keep losing my temper." **

"Ginta, is there some place where I can wash up around here?" Kagome asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Sure." He replied, happy to have a change of subject. He was still a little embarrassed at himself. "Just follow me." He got up and walked out of the cave, with Kagome following closely behind.

"There is a hot spring towards the outskirts of the territory on the western side." He informed her. "Most of the wolves just use the river that runs past the cave, so you will probably have the whole hot spring to yourself tonight." He said.

"Great!" She replied. She was truly glad that they had a hot spring on the territory. It had actually been a while since she was able to take a warm bath. Usually she had to quickly bathe herself in some lake, river, or stream that they just happened to be passing by. It was a rare occasion that she would have a hot spring at her disposal.

After a bit more walking, the springs finally came into view.

"Wow." Kagome breathed out. The springs were nothing fancy, but they were definitely nice and spacious.

Ginta began to sniff around the border, looking through the trees.

"**What's that all about?" **Kagome wondered. But before she could ponder on it anymore, Ginta spoke up.

"Since we are so close to the border, it's a little more dangerous out here. Some demon could slip past our guards more easily. I'm just taking precautions to make sure that you are alone." He told her.

She smiled at him. There was just something about the fact that he was looking out for her that made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. **"I know it's his job and everything… but he's just so… **_**nice **_**about it." **She thought to herself.

"Well, it looks all clear over here. There's a chance that one of the guards on border patrol might stumble across you, since this spring does cut through the outer bounds of the territory. Don't worry about it though, they know who you are and will leave you alone." Ginta told her.

"Who I am?" She thought out loud. "Oh, you mean "Kouga's woman." I get it." She said, with a depressed tone to her voice.

"Kagome… I didn't mean it like that." Ginta replied. He hated seeing her unhappy.

"Oh I know. I just have to get used to all this I guess. I mean, it kind of sucks being known as 'Kouga's woman' or 'Kouga's mate' rather than 'Kagome.' You know? I never wanted to be the one living in someone else's shadow."

"Well, you'll always be Kagome to me." He said with a smile. **"Oh my god… that must sound so corny."** He though in his head as he started to blush. **"Oh no, now I'm blushing!" **he though panicked. He decided to look at the ground and kick some dirt, hoping that it was dark enough that she couldn't see.

Kagome giggled a bit at his behavior. Sometimes it appeared as if a war was going on inside Ginta's head. "Thank you." She told him sincerely. "It's nice to know that someone feels that way."

"Uh... n-no problem." He said, scratching the back of his neck and looking around. "Well, I'm going to hang back a bit, but I'll be within earshot if you need anything."

"Ok. See you later." Kagome said as she stepped closer to the springs and waited for Ginta's back to completely disappear. She then stripped down and sighed as she stepped into the hot, steamy water. Sometimes it felt that the water could melt away all of your problems. It certainly was a good stress reliever anyways. This was exactly what Kagome needed. She leaned her head back onto a rock and just relaxed.

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The Inuyasha gang was finally deciding to make camp for the night, surprisingly at Inuyasha's request. They were getting closer and closer to the territory, they could all feel it. And without Kouga there, there was really nothing to worry about.

"**They really do deserve a break." **Inuyasha thought as he looked over at his comrades.** "I have been working them so hard." **Of course he never said things like that out loud, but he really did care for all of them. He didn't want to push them farther than they could go. Plus, it gave him some time to think about Kagome. Even though he knew Kouga wasn't at his cave, it still worried him that she was out there all alone, and without his protection. He had always taken care of her. That's just the way things were. Hopefully those wolves were treating her well.

"Well Inuyasha, thanks for letting us stop early. I think we could all use some extra sleep tonight." Sango said. "That includes you." She nodded up to him.

"Feh." Inuyasha replied as he jumped up into a nearby tree. "You puny humans are the ones who need to sleep all the time; not me."

Everyone rolled their eyes as they settled into the spot where they would be sleeping and began to drift off to sleep. Inuyasha gazed up at the stars, wondering if Kagome was able to see those same stars tonight. Rest had not come easily to him since she has been gone. He felt responsible for it, as if he had kidnapped her himself. **"I will find you Kagome."**

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Ginta found a good spot to wait for Kagome outside the springs. He wanted to be close enough to hear should anything happen, but he also wanted to give her some privacy. **"I know that she wouldn't want to have me sitting there watching her as she bathed." **He thought to himself. **"Not that I would mind or anything."** He added.

"I have to stop thinking like that!" He thought aloud. **"Not only do I know that she deserves more respect than that, but I know that my relationship –or lack thereof- with Kagome is not going to go ANYWHERE. I have to pull myself together**!" He chastised himself. This week with Kagome was supposed to have made things better, and hopefully help him to move on. However things just seemed to be getting worse. Could he ever _really_ fall out of love with Kagome? Or would he just have to spend an eternity torturing himself over something that he can never have? And what about her? She said that she was doing okay here, but what about when Kouga comes back? Will he force her to be his mate? **"Even if I** **do try and prepare Kagome for life with Kouga, will she ever be able to truly find happiness?" **Ginta pondered these things in his head, trying to think of what he should do. Even though he promised Kouga he wouldn't, should he try and help Kagome escape?

Meanwhile at the hot springs, Kagome was lost in thought too. She was wondering whether or not she would ever see her friends again. Would she ever be reunited with Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Kilala? Would she ever be able to return home and see her family again? Or was this _really_ the end? She had been kidnapped by Kouga before, but somehow it was different this time. This time, he seemed more cruel and possessive. What if he refused to let her go? She knew that her friends wouldn't simply walk away, no matter what Kouga did to try and stop them, but she didn't want them to get hurt. Especially not over her. As much as she would hate to admit it, she would rather be miserable with Kouga then ever see that happen. Soon her thoughts started to drift to Ginta. She wondered what could be troubling him. He was a really kind person to her, and he always seemed to look happy. But when he went off into his own thoughts, his face would either take on a sad, or angry quality. **"I wonder if he is unhappy with the fact that he has to take care of me." **Kagome thought sadly. She considered him a friend; after all he has been so kind throughout her stay. But what if he was just being nice because he had to? It made sense that Kouga would choose Ginta to look after her. He was Kouga's 'main man' after all. But what if the only reason he is being nice is because Kouga told him to be? He wouldn't dare disobey Kouga's orders. Kagome tried to push the thought away, but it just kept resurfacing. **"I'll have to try and stay out of his way." **She thoughtas she dunked her head under the water. She decided to finish up her bath and dry off. She didn't have any of her bathing supplies anyways; they were left behind when Kouga kidnapped her. Plus, she didn't want to make Ginta wait any longer. She dunked underwater one last time, and stepped out of the spring. She didn't have a towel, so she tried her best to wring the water out of her hair and got dressed. When she was done, she walked off in the direction that she saw Ginta go and made her way to him.

Ginta was still lost in thought, and didn't seem to notice Kagome creeping up on him. **"I know I shouldn't; but I just can't resist!" **Kagome giggled to herself in her head as she snuck up on Ginta. She tiptoed closer until she was standing directly over him, then bent down to his ear and yelled "HI GINTA!" He practically launched off the ground, spinning around to face Kagome. She was laughing so hard that she almost fell down. **"Well I hadn't been expecting **_**that**_** much of a reaction!" **She thought to herself. **"He must have been really concentrating on something."**

Ginta softened his previously tense expression after seeing that it was only Kagome. He started to laugh a little too, after seeing the amused look on her face. **"She looks so beautiful with her hair all wet and tousled like that." **He thought as he looked into her eyes.

"_Thanks."_ He said sarcastically, but still in a good natured way. He was actually glad that she was being playful with him. It made him feel that she was comfortable now, which really helped to ease his mind.

"I'm sorry Ginta!" She apologized, still laughing hysterically. "I just couldn't help myself. I guess my little brother's tricks rubbed off on me. We used to pick on each other all the time."

"Don't worry about it. I needed a good wake up call." He laughed back.

"I'm also sorry about everything else." She said, her mood suddenly changing to a more despondent condition.

"Um… what do you mean?" Ginta asked, sincerely confused.

"I mean… I'm sorry that you got stuck having to take care of me."

"Kagome please don't say that." He said softly. **"How can she think that? I **_**enjoy **_**taking care of her. Not only that, but I had to trick Kouga into **_**letting me **_**take care of her. What would make her say something like that?"**

"No really, it's okay. I'm sure people weren't exactly lining up to take the spot as my chaperone. I know that you are just following Kouga's orders. It doesn't bother me." She stated. "I wanted to thank you anyways, for being so nice to me throughout this whole thing." She finished. "I really do appreciate it."

What could he say? He couldn't exactly tell her of his and Hakkaku's plan, yet what she was saying was breaking his heart. He felt nothing but love and affection towards her, yet she thought that she was nothing but a thorn in his side.

"Kagome, you know that I don't feel that way. In fact… the way that I feel is rather the opposite…" He stuttered out. "I, uh… kind of like taking care of you." He said, blushing profusely.

Kagome may not have understood _all_ of the meaning behind what Ginta had just said, but she did understand that he did not find her annoying.

"Do you really mean that?" She asked, her sapphire eyes sparkling with the moonlight.

"Of course I do." Ginta replied. His face felt like it was on fire by this point, but he didn't care. The thing that amazed him is that Kagome actually seemed happy with what he said. She liked the fact that he likes taking care of her; and that was more than enough to make him happy.

"Thank you." She uttered as she threw her arms around his neck and enveloped him in a tight hug. Ginta felt himself repress a groan as he felt her lithe body pressed up against him.

"**Now is definitely NOT the time, Ginta!" **He yelled to himself inside his head. He hugged her back, and unconsciously breathed in her wonderful scent. Kagome pulled away, not realizing that Ginta faltered a bit as she did so.

Kagome yawned, and Ginta realized how late it was. "Come on; let's head back to the den." He said, leading the way. He was glad that Kagome couldn't see the contented smile spread across his face.

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Kouga was already halfway to the Northern lands by now, and he was making good time. He decided that he could afford to stop and rest.

He leaned up against a tree, sighing to release some of his frustration. He hated these stupid 'meeting' things. The only reason he even agreed to go was because he didn't want to appear to be a bad leader. He would have been more than happy staying back at the den with Kagome. **"Speaking of Kagome, I wonder how she is doing." **Kouga thought to himself. He couldn't help but wonder if she had started to get the hang of life with the wolf pack, or if she was still trying to escape. **"Hopefully she will realize her place and finally give in to me. Although I have to admit, I do like it when she shows off her fiery spirit and argues with me a bit." **He laughed in his head.

He drifted off into a light sleep, thinking of Kagome and how wonderful his return home would be.

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Ginta and Kagome had just arrived back at the cave, noticing that most of the wolves were already asleep. Ginta escorted Kagome to 'her room,' watching jealously as she snuggled up into Kouga's bed.

"**Life is so unfair." **He thought to himself as he sighed.

"Goodnight Ginta, and thank you for everything." Kagome said to him as he turned to leave.

"Sleep well." He said with a smile. He walked through the door, and over to one of the Alcoves in the cave, finding his designated sleeping area. It wasn't much, just a thin pile of furs off in the corner. There was a perfect view of Kouga's room from there, so he could still watch over Kagome as Kouga had ordered. He remembered on her first night here, he had posted two guards directly outside the door. However, that was not necessary tonight. Even if she did sneak out, the guards at the front of the cave would never let her out alone at night. It was Kouga's direct order. Not that he agreed with it at all, but he was still under Kouga's rule.

He laid down on the furs, and stared up at the ceiling. He was -of course- thinking about Kagome. He always thought about her at night. Not that he was a perv or anything; there was just nothing else to keep his mind off of her. He could smell her wonderful scent on his clothing from where she had hugged him. He could still practically feel her arms around his neck, and her body pressed up against him. He gulped, trying to clear those thoughts from his head. It was no use. He only wished that this would last forever. He wished that Kouga would never come back, and that Kagome would never leave him. He wished that he could tell her how he felt. Sure, he did get a little embarrassed around her sometimes, but he was really starting to change because of her. He felt more confident when she was at his side, and he felt stronger because of the fact that she needed him. He felt like a better person all around when they were together. It was at that exact moment that he realized… he would do anything for her.

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That's it for now! This chapter took me quite a while to write, so I hope that you all enjoyed it! I will try to put the next one up soon, since it is summer vacation and I have a few days off work. It should be up sometime within the next week. I will try for sooner though. Maybe 3 or 4 days? I'm not making any promises this time, however! You never know when your cable is going to go out! Lol. Thanks for reading! See you next time!


	8. One step closer

Yeah, I actually posted this one on time! (I set a goal for myself of no more than one week in between chapters.) Woo hoo! Anyways… thanks for reading (again)!

Disclaimer: (once more…) I DO NOT own Inuyasha. (This just gets ANNOYING after a while!)

_**Key:**_

"Speaking"

**"Thinking"**

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RECAP:

He only wished that this would last forever. He wished that Kouga would never come back, and that Kagome would never leave him. He wished that he could tell her how he felt. Sure, he did get a little embarrassed around her sometimes, but he was really starting to change because of her. He felt more confident when she was at his side, and he felt stronger because of the fact that she needed him. He felt like a better person all around when they were together. It was at that exact moment that he realized… he would do anything for her.

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Sango woke up early the next morning to the sound of birds chirping and Miroku snoring. She realized –much to her surprise- that she was the first one awake. Even Inuyasha was still sleeping in! It wasn't often that Inuyasha let himself rest like that, especially not when Kagome was gone or in danger. **"He must have finally realized that he **_**does**_** need rest in order to help her." **She thought to herself, slightly impressed with the way Inuyasha has matured. **"Or maybe he is just so confident in the fact that he is going to find her, he doesn't feel the need to change anything." **She sighed to herself, and got up to get some water. Since she had the extra time, she was going to make everyone some breakfast before they headed out.

By the time she got back, the other members of the group were beginning to stir. Sango started to boil the water, thankful that they still had Kagome's backpack. She could make some of the ramen that Kagome always brought with her. That stuff really was convenient.

"Good morning Sango." Miroku said as he began stretching. Unfortunately for him, he stretched a little too much, and his hand brushed right across Sango's backside. She quickly gave him a sharp blow to the head.

"Ow- Sango! It was an accident!"

"Sorry, reflex." She replied, giggling a little.

"Are you two at it again already?" Inuyasha said irritated as he jumped down from his perch in the tree.

"Finally awake Inuyasha?" Shippou teased, just having awoken a few minutes ago himself.

"Shut up!" He yelled bopping him on the head.

Sango rolled her eyes, and handed both of them a cup of ramen. To everyone's astonishment, Inuyasha barely touched his. He took a few bites, but he ended up giving the rest of his to Shippou. Sango looked over at Miroku as he did this, but Miroku just shrugged, and returned the same confused look she had given him.

Inuyasha noticed this, but ignored it. He didn't care. He just couldn't bring himself to eat the ramen. It only served to remind him of Kagome. She always used to be the one to make ramen for him. She had always been there to care for him and now she was gone. He had taken everything for granted. She was the only one who had ever seen him for who he was: Inuyasha. Just Inuyasha, not _hanyou_. She never judged him, not once. After all that she had done for him, he let he get kidnapped. He felt a newly restored sense of guilt wash over him, and he stood up. **"Here we have been relaxing, and who knows what she is going through right now? I have been so selfish. Maybe she is okay, and there is nothing to worry about. But I can't take that chance." **

"Let's get going guys. We still have at least a day ahead of us." Inuyasha announced as he turned his back, and began bounding off towards the direction of the wolf's den.

The rest of the group rolled their eyes, and hopped on the fire cat's back.

"Is it just me, or has Inuyasha been exceptionally moody lately?" Sango asked.

"Trust me, we've all noticed it." Miroku confirmed.

They set off after Inuyasha, wondering just what had gotten into him.

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Kagome rolled over and groaned. **"Morning again?" **she questioned herself. Even through Kouga's primitive 'door' of fur, she could see the suns rays peeking through and scattering across the cold stone floor. Outside she heard some faint movement, meaning that some of the tribe's members were already up. However it nearly as loud as it was when all of the wolves got together. **"Most of them must still be sleeping in. Hmm… so they're not morning people either…" **She laughed at the thought. **"Good. At least there is something that we have in common!"**

She rose from Kouga's bed, feeling stiff and a little sore. She had never really slept on furs before. **"I suppose it is something that I will have to get used to." **She thought, sighing.

She then walked through the door, and looked out across the cave. She could see the area where the rest of the wolves slept, and a few small nooks where other beds of fur were placed. They weren't unlike Kouga's, but they weren't layered quite as thick, and they looked to be a bit more worn. **"I guess Kouga gets special treatment because he is their leader." **She slumped down against the wall outside Kouga's door, and thought about him for a minute. **"Is that why he thinks its okay for him to act the way he does? Because he is some kind of prince?" **Kagome thought angrily.Deep down she knew that she could never be happy with him. She simply had no respect for him, or the way that he thinks. **"Maybe the fact that I am a modern girl has changed the way that I perceive things; but if he thinks it's okay to tell me that I have to be his 'mate' then he has another thing coming!" **She knew that things in feudal times were different, but that still was unacceptable in her mind.

The guards were just now changing shifts, as the night guards came in, and the day guards left to take their post. Kagome had buried her head in her hands, troubled over the thought of Kouga trying to make her stay here and be his mate. She didn't even notice when Kenji walked up and took a seat next to her.

"So you never came to visit me last night." Kenji said, trying to get her attention.

"I must have forgotten." She said sarcastically.

"Oh Kagome, be nice now. You really hurt my feelings." He said, putting a frown on his face.

She laughed, and gave him a sarcastic "yeah, I bet!" before getting up to leave. She wasn't buying it. However, he noticed that she was trying to walk away, and reached out and grabbed her hand. This only caused her to fall back down, right into his lap.

"Kenji, let me go please." She said as she wrenched her hand out of his grasp.

"I'm sorry Kagome, that was truly unintentional. Not that I dislike having you in my lap in any way though..." He said, smirking at her and showing off the tips of his fangs.

Kagome rolled her eyes and pulled herself out of his lap. "What do you want?" She asked, hoping that there was something that she could do that would get him to leave her alone.

"I just want to talk with you. Alone. Maybe sometime later tonight?" He asked with a hopeful gleam in his eye.

"Come on, you know I can't do that. They keep me more heavily guarded than the hope diamond. There's no way that they are going to leave me alone with you at night." She said.

"**Hm… I don't know what the 'Hope diamond' is… but I do think I can find a way to get her to agree to talk with me tonight." **Kenji thought.

"Don't worry about that. Just meet me here after everyone else goes to sleep. The guards at the front of the cave will let you out if you are with me. I am a guard too you know."

"Why do you want to speak with me anyways? What could be so urgent?" Kagome questioned. She couldn't help but wonder if there was a reason that he wanted to get her alone so badly. It was a bit unnerving, but she couldn't subdue her curiosity.

"Let's just say I might have some useful information for you…. Regarding your traveling companions." He tried to hide his smile after he said this. He knew that she was interested.

"What? Do you know something about them? What is it?" She asked frantically.

"Now is not the time. We'll discuss it later. Meet me here- tonight." He said as he got up and dusted himself off.

"Well…Ok." She said finally. Deep down something really felt wrong about this, but she couldn't say no. He had information about her friends. "You know- the others aren't going to like this. I am supposed to be 'Kouga's woman,' remember?"

"It's just a little harmless talking. We never even have to tell them. Now I must leave and trade shifts with another guard, but I will see you tonight, correct?" He beamed as she hesitantly nodded, signaling that she _did_ agree. "Good. Until then!" He said as he kissed her hand once again. Before she even had the chance to snatch her hand away, he was gone.

"**Hopefully that wasn't a mistake…" **She thought as she took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes.

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Ginta stretched and rolled over, then sat up once he realized just how late he had slept in. It was nice when Kouga wasn't there, they could take long breaks and sleep in longer than they would normally be allowed. He looked over and saw Kagome already awake, standing outside of Kouga's door.

"**Hmm, that's strange. She looks… **_**troubled…**_**" **He thought, starting to worry a little. He pulled himself off of his bed and trudged over, still weighed down from sleep. There was a decent sized gap in between area where Kouga's room was and the area where the rest of the wolves slept, but it was still within his line of sight. When he finally began to approach her, he gave her a cheery "Good morning Kagome!" She jumped as she was pulled out of her thoughts, and he chuckled when she jumped and took a sharp intake of breath. When she saw it was only him, she laughed along with him and rolled her eyes.

"I guess I can consider that payback?" She laughed.

"Yeah, it looked like _you_ needed a wake-up call this time." He replied. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind right now." Her thoughts drifted back to her home, and her family for a minute. She was supposed to have gone home by now. They would probably be worrying about her. She never stayed longer than she was supposed to without letting them know. **"Oh no, I forgot about my exams! They're tomorrow! Well, I guess that doesn't really matter anymore- not if I am going to be forced to stay here forever. I have other things to be worrying about right now anyways." **She sighed, trying to think her way out of this, but came up with nothing.

"**I know **_**exactly**_** how you feel. I have had a lot on my mind lately too." **He thought to himself. "Is it anything that I can help you with?" He asked. He knew that he probably couldn't be of much help, not in this case anyways. **"I have to follow Kouga's orders of keeping her here, and she probably wants nothing more than to leave." **

"No, but thanks for the offer. It's nice to have someone who cares that much."

"**If only you knew how much I care, Kagome." **He said to himself.

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"Inuyasha, how close are we now?" Miroku decided to ask. He knew that Inuyasha already had a rough estimate in his mind, judging by the scent trail that he was following.

"About a day. Maybe less, maybe more. Who knows? It _really _depends on how quickly we move." He replied. He was anxious to see Kagome, he just wondered what would happen when they got there. Hopefully she was perfectly fine, and those wimpy wolves would stay out of his way. He however, could only hope. He knew that Kouga most likely ordered his wolves to be on alert for them, and he knew that they _probably_ wouldn't give her up without a fight. That was okay with him. He couldn't wait to get his hands on the ones keeping Kagome from him. But most of all, he wanted to make it up to Kagome that this happened to her. In his mind, he felt that he failed her. **"If I had been able to protect her better, none of this would have happened in the first place."**

The group continued on in silence for a while; they could sense that Inuyasha was depressed. Hell, they were all depressed. They missed Kagome, and they had no idea of knowing whether or not she was safe and happy, or completely miserable.

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"Ginta, what is this place?" Kagome asked as Ginta led her into a field far away from the den.

"It's a place that I always used to come to when I was a kid. It is a good place to think, and sort things out. I would always come here when something was on my mind, or when I was having a difficult time. I know that you have been under a lot of stress lately, so I thought that I should share it with you. Do you like it?"

Kagome surveyed the surroundings, and her eyes lit up. She was standing in a field full of beautiful wild flowers. There was a small stream that trickled through, and ran across the edge of a small bluff. "Wow, this place is amazing!" She gasped.

"And here's the best part." He said, grabbing her hand, and leading her over to the bluff. They followed a trail up to the top, and walked over to the edge. About 50 feet down was a lake that flowed out from the stream, and across the valley below. "This is a great place to watch the sun set in the evenings."

"Wow, thanks for sharing this with me. I sure could use a place like this right now."

"It really is beautiful out here." She added. She sat down on the edge of the bluff, her feet dangling over the side. Ginta followed her example, then looked over to the place where Kagome was sitting.

"Yeah, beautiful." He whispered. However, he wasn't looking at the surroundings. He was staring lovingly at Kagome. She looked up just in time to catch his gaze. They both quickly looked away, blushing.

"**Was he… talking about **_**me**_** when he said that?" **Kagome thought to herself. **"Nah, I must be imagining things…." **She cleared her thoughts and looked back at Ginta. He had been so nice to her, but she really felt that she didn't deserve it. He must have better things to be doing. **"He's been so nice to me, and he hasn't even asked for anything in return."**

"Kagome… I hope you don't mind me asking, but how do you feel about Kouga?" Ginta ventured out, dreading the response. Either way it would be painful for him to hear. He wanted to know whether or not she would be happy as Kouga's mate, if she was forced to be with him. If she did have feelings for him, things would certainly be much easier on Kagome in the long run; even though it would practically crush Ginta's heart. If she _didn't_ have feelings for him however... Kagome would be miserable. Kouga would probably force her, and Ginta would –again- have a broken heart.

"I have always considered him a friend, but in light of recent events- I don't know if I can even call him that anymore. I don't have feelings for him in _that way_ though, if that's what you are getting at. I never have." She sighed, after being reminded of Kouga. "Honestly though, I really don't know much about wolves, and this whole 'wolf mating thing.' I could be blowing this all out of proportion, but I just don't think that I will ever be okay with his behavior. Why do you ask?" There was a tension building in the air, and they could both sense it.

"I just… wanted you to be prepared." He replied.

"Prepared for what?" She looked up at him, her eyes questioning his.

"Well, you know that Kouga isn't the type of guy who will take no for an answer. He is set on you, Kagome. He wants you to be his mate."

"Yeah, he told me that when I got here. He said that it didn't matter what I wanted anymore, that I didn't have a choice." Kagome informed him. Hearing that coming from her practically tore him apart, but he continued on.

"So… you know that if you refuse him, he will force himself on you…" He said. His heart felt like it was going to drop out of his chest.

"He made that pretty clear." She said with disdain. "He literally leapt on top of me to prove his point." She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, and she couldn't stop the one that began to slide down her cheek. **"Is this really what I have been reduced to? How could I have let this happen to myself?" **She glanced over at Ginta, who took notice of her tears. Another shimmering droplet fell from the corner of her eye, and slid down her rosy cheek. **"He must think that I am so pathetic." **She thought. However, Ginta proved her wrong as he enveloped her in a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around him as well, thankful for the comforting gesture.

"I'm sorry for crying all over you, Ginta." She sobbed, she was crying even harder now. (She _did_ have a lot to be upset about.)

"Shh, you don't have anything to apologize for." He whispered as he rocked her gently.

"Yes I do! You shouldn't have to put up with this…. And I _am_ sorry. I just- never thought that I would ever actually…. Be _raped. _But I guess it's going to happen whether I like it or not." She sniffled, and tried to pull herself together, but actually hearing herself say that she was going to be raped made it too difficult. That was the first time she had ever really thought of it in that way, and it hit her like a ton of bricks. **"Oh my god, he is actually going to rape me." **

Apparently her words had the same effect on Ginta, because his tight hug suddenly changed to bone crushing, and he almost looked as if he was going to cry. "Kagome…" He tried to get out a sentence, but failed. It's not as if he didn't know, but hearing it put in that way made it difficult to bear. And seeing Kagome tearing up over it, was heartbreaking. All he could do was hug her closer, and relish in her warmth, hoping to bring some comfort to her _and _himself. **"Holding her like this feels so right. I wish I never had to let go."**

"It's ok. I just have to accept it." She murmured. "You're right. He'll never change his mind."

"No. Kagome- I won't let that happen to you."

Kagome was astonished. **"Did he really just say that? But I thought-"**

"You deserve better." He said aloud, interrupting her thoughts

"But… how can you promise that? What can you do?" She asked.

"I don't know. But trust me, I will think of something." He assured her, and rested his chin on top of her head.

She couldn't figure out why, but she felt so safe in his arms.

"**How can he promise something like that? Is he just saying that to make me feel better? I don't know what it is, but I really believe that he meant what he said." **She snuggled closer into his chest, and stopped her tears. She wasn't sure why, but she felt secure in the fact that he was going to protect her.

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It was mid afternoon by now, and the Inuyasha gang was getting closer and closer to their destination.

"Will we get to see Kagome soon?" Shippou said, his voice full of hope.

"Maybe Shippou. Be patient." Sango replied. They were all anxious to see her, but she didn't want to get his hopes up. She still wasn't exactly sure what to expect when they got there.

They continued walking in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. They were all secretly hoping that they would be able to reach Kagome soon. They still had quite a bit of distance left to travel, but they weren't going to let that bring them down. They were making excellent time after all. If they continue on at this pace, they should be able to make it in sometime after nightfall.

"We are getting closer. Will you need to stop, or do you want to keep traveling until we reach the wolf den?" Inuyasha asked. He didn't want to push them too far, but he for one was ready to get Kagome back.

"We don't need to stop!" They all said simultaneously.

"Good. It shouldn't be much longer then." Inuyasha finished as he bounded off ahead of the group, wondering just what lay ahead for their group.

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Ginta and Kagome had spent the rest of the afternoon out, and had decided to head back to the wolf den. On the way back, Kagome had decided to stop and play with a few of the wolf cubs. Ginta went to the den, making sure that there was nothing else to take care of.

"**They're so cute!" **Kagome thought as one of the cubs jumped up and licked her nose. She giggled and pushed him off.

She thought about what Ginta said to her earlier that day, and wondered what was going to happen to her. They only had 5 days left until Kouga's return. And what was the news that Kenji had to give her? She still had an uneasy feeling about that. She was confused as to whether or not she could really trust him. **"It should be okay, he is a guard after all, right?" **Either way, she was not going to pass up information on her friends. She just hoped that everything would work out for the best.

After a few more minutes of playing with the wolf cubs, she went back into the den. They had their same meal ritual as the night before, and again, Ginta cooked her meat for her. She smiled up at him from her spot on the ground. **"I don't know what I would do without him."** She thought to herself as they finished their meal. Time seemed to move in fast forward mode, which is not something that Kagome was very happy about. She wasn't looking forward to her meeting with Kenji tonight, although for her, it would come all too soon.

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Kenji walked across the wolf den, and out the main entrance, preparing to take his post as guard for the night. Usually he would not have had to go on duty for two nights in a row, but Kouga had stepped up security all around the wolf territory ever since Kagome's arrival. He had to pick up some extra shifts just to meet Kouga's demands.

"**I wonder if Kagome is going to keep her word." **He thought as he finally arrived at his post and sat down. He _did_ have news for her, but for the most part he just wanted to get her alone. He was hoping that she couldn't see through his plan, although he was exactly doing a good job at hiding it. **"I already know that Ginta doesn't like me, so I had to ask her sometime when he wasn't around. I really hope that she didn't tell him about this. If he did, then Kouga will banish me from the territory when he gets back." **He wasn't too worried about it though, he didn't think that Kagome would go out of her way to get him into trouble. He looked up at the stars, shining across the night sky. He knew that shortly, Kagome would be out here with him.

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It was now past midnight, and there was silence throughout the wolf den. They had spent the rest of their night just talking, and when it started getting late, Ginta escorted Kagome to 'her' room.

Everyone was asleep now, and Kagome knew that it was time. If she was going to hold up her end of the deal, she would have to sneak out and meet up with Kenji. She was still a little uneasy, but passed it off. **"What do I have to worry about? He is just going to give me information about my friends… that's all." **She assured herself.** "This is no time to chicken out."** She said to herself as she pulled up out of bed and slowly made her way to the door. She lightly pushed the door flap aside and quietly stepped out of the room. She looked around, making sure that no one was awake. She turned to her right and was shocked to see that Kenji was already there smiling at her.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked.

"Whatever it is that you have to tell me, why don't you just say it here?" Kagome asked, she was starting to doubt whether or not this was a good idea (again.)

"Let's say I gave you the informationright now, and someone in here was to overhear it. You know that Kouga warned everyone about _them._" Kenji whispered. He was really getting himself in deep now. She was going to be expecting some big news.

"**Could this really be so important? Maybe they are going to come and save me!" **She thought to herself. There was no backing down now. She had to find out what was so important.

"Are you ready to go now?" Kenji asked again, emphasizing the word 'now.'

"Okay." She finally agreed. He smiled at her as he grabbed her hand and walked out of the cave. To her surprise, the guards at the cave's entrance only nodded towards Kenji; and they continued walking farther off into the darkness.

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Ginta was having trouble sleeping that night, and lay there watching the scene before him. He saw Kagome leaving her room, and it looked as if something was bothering her. She looked uneasy, and nervous. It wasn't until Kenji stepped out of the shadows that he realized why. **"What does he want with her?" **He thought, angry. They were too far away for him to hear most that they were saying, but he did hear Kagome say something like 'say whatever you have to say here' and Kenji refused the idea. He could make out the words 'information,' 'Kouga,' and 'them.' **"What is going on with those two?" **He thought as he watched them exit the cave.

"**The guards seem to know something about this." **He noticed as the guards at the front of the cave nodded the two off. He decided that they would be his best source for now.

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Inuyasha stopped and sniffed the air, noticing that the smell of wolves was getting much, much stronger.

"We should be there soon. Judging by the smell we are getting very close."

A wave of excitement washed over the group as they heard the good news. They had decided not to stop for the night, and continue to travel instead, in hopes that they would be able to get to Kagome tonight. And from the looks of it, they made a good decision.

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Sorry! I had to end it here. I wanted to put this up for you now, rather than wait until later when I can write more. Don't worry though! I will try to put up the next chapter soon. Within a week, tops. But… if I can get at least 5 reviews, I will shoot for 3, maybe 4 days. I know that I can do it, I just have to have the right motivation (aka- your reviews!). Thanks for reading!


	9. Saved?

Ok, you guys are all so cute! (My reviewers I mean.) I love you all. You are amazing- and I mean it. I'm glad that you are so into the story, and I just couldn't let you down. I just _had_ to update this for you quickly. I promised that I would if I got some good reviews; and I definitely did! Thanks again! I will send email updates to my reviewers if you ask (someone already has; so I thought that I would just put that out there.)

I'm really sorry, but I kind of had trouble with this chapter. I got a little bit of writers block…So it kinda sucks a little bit. (In my opinion anyways.) Sorry. I just wanted to put this up for everyone soon, like I promised. If you don't like it, let me know and I will consider re-writing it. It is a little shorter than usual too, but hey- it's my summer vacation. I don't want to spend the WHOLE thing on the computer writing. I have things to do too!

Thank you for reading!!!!

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Inuyasha.

_**Key:**_

"Speaking"

**"Thinking"**

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RECAP:

Inuyasha stopped and sniffed the air, noticing that the smell of wolves was getting much, much stronger.

"We should be there soon. Judging by the smell we are getting very close."

A wave of excitement washed over the group as they heard the good news. They had decided not to stop for the night, and continue to travel instead, in hopes that they would be able to get to Kagome tonight. And from the looks of it, they made a good decision.

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Kagome followed slightly behind Kenji as he pulled her deeper and deeper into the woods. They were still in wolf territory, so she wasn't too worried, but something just didn't feel right to her.

"Where are we going Kenji?" She asked nervously. He laughed as he noticed the slight worry in her voice.

"I am taking you back to my post. I am supposed to be on guard tonight, remember? If I leave for too long, it could give someone or _something_ a chance to slip in." He said assuredly.

"**Surely he doesn't need to talk to me for that long." **She thought to herself. **"Can I really trust him? Or was this all a big mistake?" **She was beginning to doubt the situation; again.She was really starting to wonder if the decision she made was a good one, but this was an opportunity that she just couldn't pass up. If he knew something about her friends, then she needed to find out what it was. She was really starting to miss them, and she needed to know that they were all okay.

They walked on in an awkward silence for a while longer, until they finally reached the outskirts of the territory.

"This is my guard post. Do you like it?" Kenji asked.

"Um… sure." Kagome replied. **"Looks just like every other piece of land out here…" **She thought, impatient. She just wanted to know what it was that he had to tell her.

"So what is this important news that you had to tell me?"

"Why, aren't we impatient?" He asked mockingly. "Don't you ever just relax? It's a nice night, sit down and enjoy the scenery."

"Fine. If it will get you to start talking then I'll do it." She huffed as she plopped down on a seat far away from him and waited.

He noticed the action, but simply scooted over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. She made a face of disgust and ducked out from under his arm, then scooted over even farther. He smirked at her and slid over to where she was, this time putting an arm around her waist, making sure that this time she could not get out so easily.

"What do you think you're doing?" She practically yelled. "If you have something to say to me, then just say it already. Please."

"Ok. Your friends are looking for you." He stated simply.

"And…" She continued, looking for more information.

"And what?" He asked. "That's all I know. I heard it from one of the other guards."

Kagome went silent. She was pissed. "That's it? That's all you have to say? Of course they are looking for me! I was kidnapped! I cannot believe that you drug me all the way out here in the middle of the night for this!" She yelled, trying to stand up. Kenji still had a hold of her waist however, and simply pulled her back down.

"Come on, Kagome. I just wanted to spend time with you! Please stay." He said, trying to give her the best puppy dog eyes that he could.

"No. You tricked me into this! Please let me go, I am leaving." She announced. He didn't let her go, though. He latched on even tighter and pulled her closer to his body.

"Kenji, let go of me." She ordered, (again) as she tried desperately to squirm out of his grasp. At first it seemed like she was getting herself nowhere, but suddenly she shifted to the right and fell out of his arms. She wasn't expecting it, and she hit the ground full force. She could feel something trickling from the back of her scalp down her neck, and she put her hand behind her head to find out what it was. When she pulled it back, it was covered in blood. She only had a few seconds to turn around and find the offending rock that had split her skull before she completely lost consciousness.

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The group was getting really close. They were less than a mile from wolf territory now. Inuyasha was still following the scent of wolves, trying to find the best way to sneak into the territory. Suddenly, he picked up another scent. **"Blood? That smells like… Kagome's blood!" **He decided that he didn't have time to waste on telling the others about it, and he took off; leaving his companions in the dust.

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Ginta had just finished prying information out of the guards, although they were very reluctant to give anything up. At first they had blatantly refused to tell him anything, but he kept on pressing them for information until they spilled. What he did find out infuriated him. Kenji had tricked Kagome into leaving with him somehow. He didn't waste time sitting and pondering the situation; he went off to find them.

"**Hopefully she is okay. She has already been through so much since she got here." **He thought as he ran towards the place where Kenji was supposed to have been on guard for the night. Then suddenly it hit him. The smell of blood. It smelled kind of like… Kagome! He began running even faster than before. **"Please be safe Kagome."**

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Kenji wasn't sure what to do now. Kagome had a head injury, and was unconscious. How was he going to explain that? He heard a rustling in the bushes, and before he had the chance to run, Ginta emerged. He looked angry, and slightly out of breath, like he had just run a marathon.

"**Oh shit. Ginta is here? He wasn't supposed to know about this!" **Kenji thought frantically. "H-hey Ginta. Nice night, huh?"

Ginta's eyes were glued to Kagome, wondering why she was unconscious on the ground. He looked up at Kenji, his eyes full of hate and anger. "What did you do to her?"

"I-uh… she just fell down. I didn't do anything." He stuttered, trying to cover his tracks. It was obvious that Ginta wasn't buying it. "Please don't tell Kouga about this." He begged.

Ginta didn't have time to worry about Kenji though. He _did_ want to make him pay for what he did, but he had to focus on Kagome right now.

"Just go back to the den Kenji." He said through clenched teeth. Kenji was about to say something, but stopped. He simply obeyed and turned to walk away. He was wondering if Ginta planned on telling Kouga about what happened. Kouga would probably end up killing him for it.

Ginta walked over to Kagome, and scooped her limp body from the ground. He leaned her head against his shoulder, trying to keep the blood flow to a minimum. He was going to try and find their tribe's healer, but before he could leave, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Inuyasha yelled as he landed on the ground a few feet from the two and quickly walked over to Ginta. He had run all the way here, to see Kagome limp and unconscious in one of the wolves' arms.

"Every time I turn my back another one of you stupid, mangy wolves has done _something_ to hurt Kagome."

"I didn't do this to her. I just got here myself." Ginta responded. He was trying his best to defend himself against what Inuyasha was saying. He could understand why Inuyasha was angry, but he was only trying to do what was best for Kagome.

"I don't care whether or not you did this. Just give her back and maybe I won't kill you this time." Inuyasha shot back rudely. He had come all this way to get her back, and this scrawny little wolf was not going to stand in his way.

"I- I can't. She needs help." Ginta tried to reason with him.

"Yeah right, like I can trust _you _to help _her. _I think you have done enough." Inuyasha said as he got even closer, attempting to grab Kagome. But Ginta moved back. He was shocked by what Inuyasha said. It angered him to hear that. He would never do anything to hurt Kagome.

"You know, I'm not the one who kidnapped her." He snapped back.

"Like that matters? Kouga may have kidnapped her, but _you_ are the one that is keeping her here; knowing what is going to happen to her when he gets back. It doesn't even bother you, does it? As long as you save your own ass! Like I said before, I can't trust you. Now if you don't hand her over, I really will kill you." This time when he tried to take Kagome from him, Ginta willingly passed her over.

"**He's right. Kouga may have been the one that actually kidnapped her, but I am the one that is condemning her to the horrible fate that awaits her here. I could have let her go at anytime, but I didn't. I kept her here because I was afraid of what would happen to myself. How could I have been so selfish?" **He thought sadly to himself.** "How could she have ever trusted me? She must think that I am some kind of monster."**

"You're right. I'm sorry." Ginta said softly as he watched Inuyasha turn to leave. Inuyasha stopped in his tracks, shocked at what he was hearing. "Just promise me that you'll take care of her, ok?"

"Of course I will." Inuyasha said arrogantly as he pulled Kagome closer to him, and spared one last backward glance at Ginta before he began his trek back to the group. Ginta stayed rooted to his spot, confused and forlorn. He didn't know what was going to happen to him after this, but he felt that he deserved it. **"As long as Kagome is happy, then so am I." **

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Ok, I know this is REALLY short, but I just got a phone call and I HAVE to go out. I'm not sure when I'll have another chance to write more, so I just wanted to put this up before I left. Tell me what you think, and I'll see what I can do about writing that next chapter for you! Thanks again!


	10. Runaway

Enjoy!

Thank you for reading!!!! Sorry if it isn't what you expected.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Inuyasha.

_**Key:**_

"Speaking"

**"Thinking"**

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa beginning/end of chapter

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RECAP:

"**He's right. Kouga may have been the one that actually kidnapped her, but I am the one that is condemning her to the horrible fate that awaits her here. I could have let her go at anytime, but I didn't. I kept her here because I was afraid of what would happen to me. How could I have been so selfish?" **He thought sadly to himself.** "How could she have ever trusted me? She must think that I am some kind of monster."**

"You're right. I'm sorry." Ginta said softly as he watched Inuyasha turn to leave. Inuyasha stopped in his tracks, shocked at what he was hearing. "Just promise me that you'll take care of her, ok?"

"Of course I will." Inuyasha said arrogantly as he pulled Kagome closer to him, and spared one last backward glance at Ginta before he began his trek back to the group. Ginta stayed rooted to his spot, confused and forlorn. He didn't know what was going to happen to him after this, but he felt that he deserved it. **"As long as Kagome is happy, then so am I." **

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Kagome groaned as a few of the sun's ray seeped through the foliage and swept across her eyelids. She still had a horrible, pounding headache, and all she wanted was a few more moments of peaceful slumber. **"Wait a minute, sunlight? I thought that I was sleeping in a cave…" **She reached out and felt below her, only to realize that she was laying on her old sleeping bag, rather than a makeshift bed of furs. Suddenly her eyes shot open as she remembered last night's events. She couldn't recall anything past what happened between her and Kenji. She gave her eyes a moment to focus, and then leapt up as she realized where she was and who she was with.

"Kagome, you're awake!" Shippou yelled as he launched himself straight into Kagome's stomach. She made an 'oof' sound and hugged him back, happy to see him again.

"Shippou, be careful. She is still injured!' Sango scolded as she made her ay over to the two. Shippou gave Kagome a look of apology, and hopped back onto Miroku's shoulder.

"I'm glad to see that you are finally awake Kagome!" Miroku said cheerfully. "It's about 3 or 4 hours past noon already." He added.

"**Wow, I sure did sleep late." **Kagome thought. **"But for good reason. Last night was insane!" **"Guys, do you know what exactly happened last night? How did I even get _back_ here?"

"Well, from what we have gathered from Inuyasha, he found you unconscious with one of Kouga's wolves in the forest last night. He ran ahead of us to get to you faster, otherwise we would have been there too." Sango explained simply. "Apparently you had a head injury of some sort?" Sango halfway questioned, hoping that Kagome had some information for them as well.

"Yeah, Kenji tripped me and I must have hit my head on a rock or something." She mumbled trying to fully remember everything herself.

"Who is Kenji?" Shippou asked curiously, not noticing that she was having trouble recalling last night's events.

"Oh, he's one of the guards at Kouga's den. I actually wasn't 'allowed' to be out in the forest last night in the first place, but I snuck out. He was supposed to give me information about you guys, although it turned out he really didn't have much information. Only that you were nearby. That's all I really know. I can't remember anything after I hit the ground."

"Well, hopefully you are doing better now. Is your head okay?" Miroku questioned.

"Yeah, I am feeling much better. I guess all I really needed was some decent rest. And it is really good to see the three of you again!" She said, flashing them a smile.

"We are happy to see you again too Kagome. Did they treat you well there? Because if they didn't…" Sango trailed off as she motioned towards her hirakotsu. Miroku added a 'yeah I've got your back' look and waved his cursed hand at her. Kagome laughed fondly. She really had missed her friends.

"Yeah, surprisingly I was treated very well." She thought back to the way that Ginta had escorted her everywhere, and treated her with kindness and care. It brought a tiny smile to her face. **"I wonder if I will ever see him again…" **

"Well, you must be hungry! How does some of your 'ramen' sound?" Normally, Kagome would have groaned at the mention of the food, but in this case she was ecstatic. She hadn't had any modern food in quite a while. Plus, it reminded her that she finally had her beloved backpack back.

"It sounds wonderful Sango." Kagome said cheerfully. "Speaking of ramen… Where is Inuyasha?"

"Oh, he left about an hour ago. He wanted to wake you up, but we insisted that he let you rest for a while. He got angry and left. He probably just went for a walk or something. You know how he is- he always takes off when something is bothering him." Miroku commented.

"Don't worry; I'm sure he'll come back when he smells ramen cooking!" Sango added enthusiastically.

The ramen was done fairly quickly, and the four sat around eating and filling each other in on everything that had been happening during the time that Kagome was gone. It had been roughly a half an hour, but there was still no sign of Inuyasha. **"I wonder where he could be." **Kagome wondered getting a little worried. Suddenly there was a rustle in the bushes nearby, and Inuyasha emerged. He had an indignant expression plastered on his face, and everyone was curious as to what had happened. He didn't say anything however, as he sat down and started eating some of the ramen that the group left out for him.

Kagome decided that it would be better not to ask. He must just be angry about everything in general. He was angry with Kouga for kidnapping her, and he was angry with the other wolves for helping to keep her trapped there at his den. Even though he tried to hide it, Kagome could tell that he was angry at himself for letting it happen in the first place. She didn't blame him for anything, but that didn't change the fact that he felt responsible. **"Still, it's strange that he hasn't said anything to me yet. Maybe there **_**is**_** something else on his mind." **Kagome pondered.

She decided to be the first to break the uncomfortable silence that spread over the group since his return. "Thanks Inuyasha, for rescuing me last night." She said sincerely, waiting for a reaction.

"You have nothing to thank me for. It shouldn't have happened in the first place." He grumbled.

"**So that **_**is**_** what was troubling him."** Kagome thought.

"That's not true Inuyasha, and you know it. No one could have predicted what Kouga was going to do. I'm safe now, thanks to you, and that is all that matters."

Inuyasha seemed to lighten up a bit at her words, but he gave no response. He still felt guilty. He left earlier to do some thinking, but he found himself afraid to return. He was afraid that Kagome would blame him for what had happened. Hell, even _he_ blamed himself. She smiled softly at him, and watched as his mood improved with her last statement.

"**How can she be so kind and forgiving after what I put her through?"** Inuyasha thought as he stole a glance at Kagome, bewildered when he saw her beaming at him like she didn't have a care in the world. **"I swear, no matter what it takes I will never let another one of those mangy wolves hurt her again."** He silently vowed.

Kagome noticed that Inuyasha no longer looked angry or upset, but rather… content. **"Maybe things can get back to normal now." **Kagome thought to herself. Deep down though, she didn't want things to get back to normal. She felt like something was missing, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Sango noticed that the mood was a little tense. "There is a hot spring not too far from here; would you like to take a bath Kagome?"

"Sure." She answered excitedly. She really felt that she could use a bath, and now that she had her backpack with her she could actually use real soap and shampoo. She grabbed her belongings and headed off, making sure to shout a 'don't even think about following' back to Miroku on her way out. Within minutes they were at a small spring. They climbed in and began to soak their sore muscles.

"So, what is bothering Inuyasha?" Kagome asked. "I mean, I know that he is upset about the fact that Kouga kidnapped me, but is there something else that is bothering him? He seems really spaced-out, and kind of upset."

"I think he feels that it was his responsibility to protect you. He thinks that it's his fault that you got kidnapped, and he also feels badly about the fact that you got injured before he could get to you. I know that you don't place any blame on him, but he stills feels guilty. You know how he is."

"Yeah, but it seems like there is something more than that. I mean, I am back now. My head injury is healing and I am safe. Why is he still moping around? It's understandable that he feels bad, but this is a little much." Kagome continued.

"Well, you do know that it is canine mating season in a few days, right? I think he wants to ask you… you know. But given everything that has happened…" Sango trailed off.

"What? No way! I mean, Kouga told me that mating season was coming up, but Inuyasha asking me to be his mate? I don't think that he would even consider asking me _that_. You must be mistaken." She replied.

"Why else do you think that he has been acting the way that he has? I can't exactly speak for him -since he isn't very open with his feelings- but I know that he cares deeply for you. And judging by his behavior recently, I think there is a good chance that he _will_ ask you to be his mate. It's not definite or anything, but it _is_ a possibility."

"**Can that be true?" **Kagome thought. **"Even if it is… I'm not really sure how I feel about that. Would I say yes? I do care about him, but somehow my feelings for him have changed. I know that he still cares about Kikyo too much. I don't think that I can trust him completely in that sense, not after all of the times that he has abandoned me to be with her. I would always worry that he was going to leave me and decide to go to hell with her someday. I wish that things were different, but I can't change the way that I feel."**

Sango knew that Kagome had some thinking to do, so she quickly finished washing herself and got out of the water. Kagome had been so lost in thought that she didn't even notice when Sango dried off and dressed herself. "I'm heading back to camp." Sango announced.

"Ok. I think I'm going to stay here a bit longer." Kagome appreciated the fact that Sango was giving her some time to herself. She had a lot to think about. She sunk under the water as Sango walked away, letting a few bubbles of air slip back towards the surface above. She stayed submersed for as long as she could, pondering the situation she was in. If Sango was right, then she had a big decision to make. Would she say no? Could she really stand to break Inuyasha's heart like that? If she didn't, then she ran the risk of getting her own heart broken. **"Why does this have to be so difficult?" **After a few moments of going back and forth in her mind, she resurfaced, taking in oxygen and diving back under to wash her hair. She pulled out her shampoo, and scrubbed her hair furiously. She then dipped her head back under and rinsed her scalp clean. It felt so nice to get cleaned off and be able to relax. She floated around in the water for a good 20 minutes, relishing the feeling of the warm water against her skin. It had been a while since she had taken a decent bath. The last time she had even taken a bath was back at the wolf den. With this realization her thoughts drifted to Ginta, and how he had taken care of her during her stay there. She may not have liked the reason that she was there, but she can't deny that she did enjoy spending time with him.

Then it suddenly occurred to her that Ginta may not know anything about what happened to her. **"I can't believe I hadn't thought about this before! I guess I was just so busy catching up on what's been happening with my friends that it never even crossed my mind. Does he even know what happened? I wasn't supposed to have left the cave in the first place! What is he going to think? And what is he going to do? Kouga is going to blame him for my disappearance." **Kagome was really worried now. Maybe it was the bump on the head, but she hadn't even thought about what was going to happen to Ginta. Would Kouga punish him for this? Who was she kidding, of course he would! The only question was… how? Would he actually go as far as killing him? She quickly jumped out and changed into a clean uniform. The gang had plans on setting out first thing tomorrow, but she knew what she had to do. She couldn't leave Ginta alone, not after all that he had done for her. And she had to apologize for the fact that she had snuck out in the first place. **"I feel so incredibly selfish. I hope that he can forgive me." **She thought hurriedly as she towel dried her hair and jogged back to camp.

Kagome arrived back at the campsite, to find that Inuyasha was the only one there. "Hey, Inuyasha, where are the others?" She asked, curious as to where they went.

"They had to go back to Kaede's village. Miroku sucked up some poisonous plant into his wind tunnel. He was exterminating some small demon that crossed his path when he was going off to spy on you guys."

"**I knew it!" **Kagome thought to herself, but stopped and continued to listen to what Inuyasha had to say.

"Sango had to go with him to make sure that he got there safely, and they needed Kilala to take them there. Shippou said that he didn't want to be left alone with me, so the little brat hitched a ride on Sango's shoulder."

"Sorry that you had to stay behind because of me." She apologized. "Sango could have come and gotten me."

"Nah, they needed to leave right away. It would have slowed them down having us all travel back together anyways. We can meet up with them later." He said casually. He didn't seem to mind the fact that the others were gone. In fact he seemed a little relived.

"**Great, just what I needed." **She thought sarcastically.She was hoping that the rest of the group would be there. She figured if she explained the situation to them, and told them her side of the story, then they would stick up for her and support her decision to go back to the wolf den. She knew that Inuyasha was not that patient however, and he wouldn't even consider the idea. She couldn't wait very long to go back. She didn't have that kind of time. There were less than 4 days left until Kouga returned from his trip. She would just have to try and reason with Inuyasha. **"I know that Inuyasha is going to freak out when I tell him, but that is a chance that I have to take. I refuse to abandon Ginta like that. He would never do that to me…" **She was the one that Kouga was after. If she had to sacrifice herself -and her future- for Ginta, then she would. He was prepared to do that for her, after all.

She sat calmly down in front of Inuyasha, and took a deep breath. **"You can do this." **She told herself.

"Inuyasha, there is something that I need to tell you." She waited for some kind of reaction, but all she got was a raised eyebrow and a slightly confused look. **"Good enough."** She thought. She decided that it would be better to just get straight to the point. She could explain herself further from there.

"You see… I have to go back to the wolf den. Th-"

"WHAT?!" Inuyasha yelled, completely interrupting her. "Absolutely not!" He screeched at her.

"You don't understand. I HAVE to go back." She said, trying to get through to him. She didn't have any other choice- not in her mind anyways.

"What, did you leave something there? If that's the problem I'll go back myself. I would like to tear apart a few of those scrawny wolves anyways." He replied a little more calmly, smirking with the last part of his statement.

"No. I have to go back… _alone._ I know you won't understand, but you have to let me do this. If I don't then other people will have to pay for the fact that I left. You see, Ginta was put in charge of watching over me while Kouga was gone," Her voice dropped to a whisper as she added "If Kouga comes back and I am not there, he will kill him."

"So?! Screw that coward! Don't you see what he's done to you? He _trapped you_ there Kagome! He knew what was going to happen to you. He knew why you were there! And yet he made you stay regardless. Do you know why? He was too busy worrying about saving his own ass!"

"That's not true." She said softly. **"Why does it hurt so much to hear this?"** She wondered. **"It doesn't matter. I don't believe it." **She knew that Ginta would never intentionally put her in harm's way. "He didn't have a choice."

"What? He could have let you go at anytime, Kagome. But guess what? He didn't. Not until I threatened his life that is. He was such a pathetic coward that he handed you right over! Luckily for you it was me that came to get you. I'm sure he would have given you up to any hungry demon that crossed his path. Look, I'm sure he tried to sound really sincere, but it's all bullshit Kagome. He was just using you to keep himself from having to face Kouga's wrath."

"You're wrong." She stated firmly. Kagome was shocked to hear him say that. It made her sad and angry at the same time. **"Wait a minute… did he say that Ginta was the one that 'handed me over?' So Inuyasha was wrong! He really does care! He said he would protect me from being raped by Kouga… and he did. He knew that if he gave me back to Inuyasha, then I would be free. He **_**knows**_** that Kouga is going to kill him for this, and he did it anyways." **Inuyasha was shocked to see a loving smile grace Kagome's previously pouting lips. He shrugged it off and assumed that she was starting to see things his way. He actually saw it as a plus, assuming that the loving smile was for him. Oh how wrong he was.

"I don't care what you say. I am going back, and you can't stop me." She got up, and slung her backpack over her shoulder. She wasn't sure exactly where the den was from here (she was unconscious when Inuyasha carried her back) but she had a general idea. She knew that they weren't far anyways; he wouldn't have carried her a long ways with her head injured the way that it was.

"No." Inuyasha growled out. His tone was harsh, and to be honest Kagome was a little freaked out to hear him speak to her that way, but she wasn't backing down.

"Well I wasn't _asking_ for your permission." She said, giving him a smug look and turning on her heel. She felt a sense of freedom and happiness as she started to walk off, although it was very short lived. She felt a crushing grip on her shoulder, and she turned to face the offender. She knew Inuyasha was the only one there, but it still shocked her when she turned and realized that he was the one grabbing her. What shocked her more however, were his eyes. There were speckled with spots of red, giving them a pinkish tint. Her eyes trailed down to the tetsusaiga at his hip, wondering what was going on.

"Let go!" She ground out, trying to pry his hand off of her arm. It was already starting to bruise badly. He held his grip firmly though, trying to get his point across. "SIT!" She yelled, and watched as his prayer beads lit up, preparing to slam him into the dirt. However, his hand with still wrapped firmly around her arm, and she was quickly pinned beneath him. She screamed when she felt his claws pierce through her shoulder, and his body crush her own. She felt like she had broken every bone in her body. She could barely breathe. What was a minor annoyance for Inuyasha was an excruciatingly painful experience for her. Not to mention the fact that she was on the bottom, with Inuyasha's added weight to make things worse. After what felt like an eternity, the spell wore off, and Inuyasha peeled himself up off the ground. Kagome took note of the fact that his eyes were back to normal, then promptly looked away and tried to pull herself up as well. Her shoulder was bleeding profusely, and there was a large bruise on her thigh from where Inuyasha's knee slammed into her. Her vision was getting a bit fuzzy too. The incident didn't help her already injured skull. She managed to get to her knees though, and check herself over. She put her hand to her shoulder, and pulled it in front of her face, shocked at the amount of blood she found on it. Inuyasha watched the scene with a horrified expression.

"I-I'm sorry Kagome. You have to understand… I was only trying to protect you…"

"You call this protecting me?" She said, glancing at her bloody shoulder as she shakily made her way to her feet.

"Hey, you're the one who said sit." He said as he took a small step back.

"Yeah! Only because I had to! You never should have grabbed me in the first place! What makes you think that you have the right to treat me that way?"

Inuyasha was at a loss for words. He hadn't meant for it to go so far.

"You know what? I don't care anymore. You just sat there telling me how _everyone else_ was using me, and how _everyone else_ didn't give a damn about what happened to me. But don't you realize how hypocritical you are being? The only reason you even wanted me back was so that you could use me to find the jewel shards! That way you could fulfill your own selfish wish to become a full demon! And even though I stayed by your side, knowing that I am only a tool for you to use, you _still_ abandon me and run off to Kikyo every chance you get, not caring what happens to me or the others."

"I do care Kagome… I do. It's just…"

"Just what? Just that you care about her _more_? You would leave me for her in a heartbeat. You and I both know that. Yet even with that knowledge I am too stupid to leave. I stick around to take even more abuse from you… because deep down I really want to trust you. I used to think that you were one of my best friends, and that you would _never_ hurt me. Yet once again you prove me wrong." A moment of silence passed over them. Inuyasha wanted to argue back, but he knew that it was useless. He had been selfish. She was right. Somehow he didn't think that an apology would be enough.

"I don't care if you think it's ok to treat your friends that way, but I don't. I have a friend -a good friend- and he's back at Kouga's den right now. I don't care what happens, but I won't leave him to take the fall for me; not alone anyways." A look of sadness passed over Inuyasha's face. How come he didn't realize what an ass he was being before hand? If he had done things differently, he may have still had a chance with Kagome.

"Did you know that he promised to protect me from Kouga before you showed up? Probably not, since you were too busy running your mouth. If there _are_ any consequences to face, then we will face them together. That's what _real _friendship is. Maybe someday you will be lucky enough to experience that for yourself."

This time when she turned to walk away, Inuyasha didn't follow. Everything that she said had hit him like a brick wall. He had no idea that she felt that way about everything.

"**How could I have been so blind? I never knew how much I was hurting her. She's right, I have been selfish… If only she knew how sorry I am. I wish I could take it all back." **He thought sorrowfully as he watched her injured form slowly disappear into the darkening woods. He felt the sting of tears prick the corners of his eyes. "I-I love you Kagome." He whispered to himself once Kagome was out of earshot. If only he had the courage to tell her how he felt, maybe this would have ended differently.

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Ginta had spent the whole day dodging the other wolves and wolf-men. They all had questioning eyes, wondering what happened to the strange looking girl that Kouga had claimed to be his mate. Any time someone confronted him, he made up some lame excuse, saying that she took a walk or went to bathe. He knew that he couldn't hide the truth forever, yet he simply didn't know how to tell everyone what _really_ happened.

Her image flashed through his troubled mind, slightly calming his nerves. He pictured her smiling and laughing, and hoped that she was happy wherever she was. He would gladly take Kouga's punishment, as long as it meant that she was happy and safe. The sun was starting to lower itself below the horizon, and Ginta walked towards his new post. He had to fill in for Kenji, since he was on suspension for his 'crimes.' He dealt the punishment himself, since he knew that he couldn't exactly tell anyone else what had happened yet. Kenji didn't mind however. He knew that Kouga wouldn't have been half as lenient towards him. He did have to promise not to bother Kagome anymore -which he was a bit reluctant to do- but he finally agreed.

Ginta arrived at the designated area and took a seat. He had a lot to think about while he was out here. He sighed deeply. **"This is going to be a long night." **

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Kagome continued traipsing through the woods, hoping that she was heading in the right direction. She had been walking for what felt like hours, and there was still no sign of the wolf territory anywhere. Her wounds were still fresh, and hadn't stopped bleeding yet, but she didn't want to let that slow her down. She was worn out, and if she stopped to take a break she may not want to get back up again. Plus there is no telling what could be hiding out in the dense forest. Kagome looked around, noticing that only a few lonely beams of moonlight managed to stream through the thick canopy. **"The sooner I get out of here the better." **She thought as a light breeze swept through the area, chilling her to the bone. As she walked, she thought about what she said to Inuyasha back at the campsite. She felt bad for leaving him there, but this was something that she had to do, and he needed to understand that. Plus he deserved to hear the things that she said to him. No, he _needed _to hear it. She could only hope that she got through to him this time, and maybe knocked a little sense into that thick skull. **"I can't help wondering if what Sango said was true though… Was he really going to ask me to be his mate?" **Those thoughts were pushed from her mind as she heard footsteps approaching from behind. She stopped in her tracks and listened intently, trying to figure out who, or what could be following her. She slowly turned and scanned the area. Her heartbeat began to pick up when she saw a figure standing in the shadows less then 30 feet away. It began to approach her, and she realized that it was a man, who appeared to be traveling with at least three other people.

"My, my, what a pretty girl I have found." Said a deep masculine voice as the figure stepped closer and closer. Kagome turned and tried to run, but the man caught up with her in no time. He grabbed her by her injured shoulder, causing her to yelp in pain. There was laughter from the other individuals traveling with him, and she realized that they were most likely bandits of some sort.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I see someone else has already done enough of that." He commented as his eyes swept over her body. "I just want to have a little fun." He smirked and pulled her tight against his chest, causing her to feel even more pain in her shoulder. "Let me go!" She yelled as she winced from the pain. Normally she would be able to put up more of a fight, but she was already so injured that she could barely walk, let alone fend off three or four grown men. This particular bandit seemed to be taking full advantage of the fact that she was already injured and rendered helpless. He made that painfully clear as he gave her shoulder a rough squeeze and let go, causing her to fall to her knees before him. "As you requested, milady." He said, as the others burst out into laughter. She could plainly smell alcohol on them, and she knew that they were probably drunk. **"So they are enjoying this, huh?"  
**

She jumped to her feet and kneed the man before her in the groin, hard. It used a lot of her strength, but it was worth it to see the man doubled over in pain. Before she knew it, his little minions had surrounded her and bound her arms and legs with rope, making sure that it was tied uncomfortably tight as a form of punishment for what she had done. The leader slowly rose from the ground. She was expecting him to be pissed, but when he looked up she realized that he actually had a smile on his face.

"I like this one. She's feisty. I think we should take her back with us. What do you say boys? I may even decide to share this one with you."

Kagome was completely disgusted. She was really hoping that at least one of them would object… but they all agreed unanimously. **"Of course. What else should I expect?"** She thought to herself as one of them picked her up and tossed her over their shoulder. She felt so stupid and helpless as they trekked through the forest, making their way to some unknown destination. **"I made a huge deal out of everything and ran off blindly into the woods, not even knowing where I was going. I guess you could say I deserve this. But still… I wish that I could have at least told Ginta that I was sorry first. I hope that it all turns out okay for him. It is my fault that he is going to be punished, and it is my fault for getting captured before I have the chance to go back and make things right. How could I be so foolish and weak?" **Kagome hated being the damsel in distress, but fate obviously didn't feel the same way. Not today at least.

Before she had the chance to think on it anymore, the bandits arrived at a small clearing, where she noticed a rather primitive campsite set up. **"I should have known. Being that they are bandits they probably travel around a lot." **Kagome thought as she was thrown down next to a large boulder. The men sat a few feet away, huddled around a campfire. They were discussing something, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. She wiggled around a bit, trying to slide her feet out from underneath her when she felt something sharp pierce her back. Blood seeped into the back of her shirt, and she let out a muffled cry, hoping that the nearby bandits didn't notice. She leaned forward in an effort to relieve the pain, and it was then that she noticed a jagged piece of the boulder jutting out right behind her back. At first she was agitated with the offensive object, but then an idea struck her. **"As long as the bandits aren't paying attention… I might be able to use the rock to my advantage." **A small smile played upon her face as she formulated her plan. **"Maybe this is my chance to get out of here…" **

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Ok. Done.

I'm not sure how I feel about the way that this chapter was written. I was in a weird mood. Not necessarily bad… but I wouldn't call it good either.

Anyways… I need some support and some encouragement. If you want me to write more, then let me know. I'm not going to ask for a certain amount of reviews, because it doesn't matter. I am always so thrilled when people tell me how much they love the story. Even just a few would be wonderful. On the other hand, let me know if you were disappointed with my writing too, or if there is something that I need to improve upon. If you all really hate it then I will rewrite it… but hopefully it wasn't that bad.

Well I am soooooo tired! (Finally I get to sleep!) Thanks for reading. : )


	11. Reunited

I know it has been a long time, and I am truly sorry. Originally I stopped updating because my computer was run over by a car. (Yeah, I'm totally serious.) I had to wait for the person responsible to get the money to pay for it, and things just progressed from there. I started getting involved in other things, and didn't really give my writing much thought. I apologize, and I plan on putting more effort into my writing from now on. I thank those of you that have stuck with me, and are continuing to read this even now. I really appreciate it, and I plan to be more committed in the future.

On a high note, I did pass my final skydiving course! I am now a professional, licensed skydiver. It was a lot of work, but definitely worth it! I am going on a team jump next week. We're playing air hacky-sack. : )

Well, enjoy the story! I plan on finishing it in a few more chapters, so I will have to progress their feelings a little. Maybe I will finally let Ginta get a little action... ; ) Who knows?

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"**She's safe." **Ginta chanted over and over in his mind. Kagome had been gone for less than a day, but he was missing her terribly. He knew that it was for the best, so he couldn't complain. At least this way he was holding up his end of the deal, right? He found a way to keep her safe from Kouga, even though he knew that he was breaking the rules. Kouga would be furious, that much he knew for sure, but what else could he do? He would rather die a thousand deaths rather than see any harm come to her. The thought of Kouga violating and abusing her was more than he could stomach. At least he could die with the knowledge that her future was secure, and that she would not have to suffer at his hands. **"Have a great life Kagome." **He wished tenderly as a last goodbye. He knew that she couldn't hear him, but it still comforted him a little. His heart constricted painfully at the thought of losing her. He knew that he was only doing what was in her best interests, but that didn't meant that it didn't hurt. He sighed, grappling for control of his emotions. **"I did the right thing." **He reminded himself. **"Now she can find true happiness."**

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Kagome darted swiftly through the forest, running as fast as her sore legs could take her. She had managed to use the jagged rock to slice the ropes that bound her wrists, and untie herself before the bandits noticed her movements. She was still far from freedom however, and she knew that she could not allow herself to be re-captured. The bandits would not be pleased that she had decided to run off, and she was already injured enough. She didn't think her bruised body could take much more abuse.

"Ack!" She yelled, tripping on an upturned root that was obstructing her path. Despite the pain, she laughed at the irony of the incident. **"Guess I was wrong." **She thought, peeling herself off the ground and resuming her normal pace. She could hear the shouts of her captors in the distance, only serving to further increase the urgency of the situation. She could only hope that she was traveling in the right direction. Not to say that she wasn't modest, but she knew that she was a smart girl. She had come to the conclusion that finding the wolf territory was her key to safety. Although she was supposed to be held prisoner there, she knew that she would be allowed on the premises without question, and she would be offered security and protection within it's borders. The bandits however were another story entirely. She shivered with the added thought that the wolves would probably eat the bandits as well. It was true that she didn't like them, but she wouldn't wish that fate on anybody. **"Well, there's not much I can do about that if they choose to follow me." **She reasoned. The wolves didn't like trespassing, and they certainly wouldn't take well to the fact that these men were a threat to their leader's intended. It was their job to protect her, after all.

"**If only I had some indication as to where the territory is!" **She thought frantically. She couldn't keep evading the bandits forever, and she knew that in her state they would eventually catch up. Her prayers seemed to be answered by a faint howling not too far off in the distance. It was the unmistakable call of a wolf. Normally she wouldn't take such comfort in the eery sound, but tonight she couldn't have been happier to hear it. **"Only a little further and I am in the clear!" **She thought, increasing her pace even beyond her expectations. She had a renewed sense of hope, and an increased desire to reach her destination. **"I'm so close... I can't get caught now!" **

The bandits were hot on her trail, but she was so close she could feel it. **"Just a little farther..." **

With a few final footsteps and a rustling of bushes, she was abruptly thrown into a clearing, having made her way entirely out of the forest. **"This looks so familiar..." **She thought, feeling a certain sense of deja-vu. She had definitely been here before, she only had trouble remembering when.

"K-Kagome?" She snapped her head up to see who had called to her, but all she saw was a shadowy figure in the distance. She was unable to make out any distinctive, identifying features. She tried to examine the mystery person closer, but the single moment she had taken to get a closer look had allowed the bandits just enough time to catch up to her.

The leader of the group, still slightly winded from the chase, whispered laughingly into her ear. "You'll pay for running from us, bitch."

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Ginta was having a fairly uneventful night, nothing but his troubled thoughts to occupy his mind. He laughed at his own delusions. He could smell her on the wind. The logical part of his brain told him that this was indeed an impossibility. **"She's safe with Inuyasha now. I can rest easy. As much as I miss her, she is not here."** He told himself. He stood from his watch spot, intending to scan the area and stretch his legs. It had been a long night, and things were only getting worse as the evening progressed. He missed her so much he felt as if his heart would burst.

Ginta paused for a moment, hearing a rustling in the bushes nearby. It was too big to be an average woodland creature, but too small to be an attacking demon. He paused to scent the air, and stitched his eyebrows together in confusion.

"K-kagome?" He sputtered, seeing her burst through the foliage on the outskirts of the clearing. Her hair was tousled and out of place, and her clothes were ripped and tattered in several places. She had several obvious wounds. **"Just what the hell happened to her?" ** He wondered furiously. **"She was supposed to be with Inuyasha... He was supposed to keep her safe!" **

He realized that he had run out of time to ponder however when her tormenters revealed themselves. He saw a group of men chasing her out of the woods, and watched as the leader approached Kagome. When the man leaned in and whispered to her, Ginta felt his blood boil.

"**How dare he threaten her!" **He thought as he leapt forward, placing his body strategically in front of the bandit, and putting ample space between him and Kagome. She quickly turned to face the scene, and Ginta flashed her a backwards glance, trying to assure her that he had the situation under control.

Her eyes widened in awe as she saw who it was. "Ginta?" She questioned aloud. "How did you-"

"Stand back Kagome." he ordered as he noticed the bandit eyeing her hungrily.

"So, you two know each other?" The bandit laughed. "A human and a demon? Tell me girl, what would posses you to associate yourself with the likes of_ him_?" He spat, eyeing the wolf demon with disdain. "Stand aside and cooperate, and we might just let you escape with your life." He finished mockingly, standing his ground against Ginta.

Ginta was growling now, his face having taken on an entirely dark quality. Kagome stared up in awe, never having seen him act so distinctly... _canine _before. His spine had straightened, making him appear much taller and more threatening than before. The low rumbling sound of his growl was rolling off his chest with ferocity, filling the clearing with the ominous sound. His claw tipped fingers were flexing at his sides, and his lips were pulled back in a snarl exposing his wolfish fangs. She wondered what had come over him... even in extreme situations she had never seen him act this way. From what she knew of Inuyasha -and dogs in general- the wolf was throwing off extreme canine warning signs at these bandits. She was only worried about what kind of trouble he would get himself into- she didn't want him getting hurt in her defense after all. Not only that, but it just wasn't in her nature to enjoy witnessing violent acts of any kind.

The bandit seemed to notice the tension in the air, but refused to back down. "Don't worry wolf, we wont hurt her... much." He said laughingly. Before he had a chance to speak any further, Ginta's hand had shot out, tightly grasping the man's throat. As he struggled for breath, Ginta began lifting him further and further off the ground, his anger flaring as he thought about what the bandits had planned on doing with Kagome. He effortlessly raised the bandit higher and higher, until he was at eye level with the man. There was fear and panic written across his features as he feet struggled to make contact with the earth below, but it was no use. Ginta was not going to spare him any suffering.

Kagome watched the scene in horror, wondering just what to do. Should she stayout of the way and let Ginta strangle the man to death? Sure he had tried to hurt her -and had planned on doing more- but it just wasn't her style. She wasn't vindictive, and she just wanted it to stop.

"Ginta, you don't have to do this." She spoke up, taking a step closer to him. Ginta was still furious however, and was not willing to relinquish the man quite yet. "**What can I do to get through to him?" **She wondered, realizing that her plea had fallen on deaf ears.

The man's face had taken on an unnatural hue, and Kagome knew that he was running out of time. She stood decidedly. She was not ready to witness any death tonight, especially one that was so easily avoidable. She approached Ginta quickly, knowing full well that time was a factor.

Ginta's violent snarls and guttural growls stopped short as he felt two feminine arms embracing him gently from behind. She had wrapped her arms around his waist in a comforting gesture. The whole situation had thrown him into such a fit of rage that he had completely blocked out everything else, until her warm touch jolted him back to reality. Finally Kagome's pleading voice broke through to him, and he realized with shame that he was upsetting her.

"It's okay. You can let him go now." She whispered softly, glad to see that he was beginning to come back into his own. Ginta dropped the bandit unceremoniously to the dirt below, and he began gasping for breath like a fish out of water.

"Leave." Ginta ordered a bit harshly. The man was struggling to get to his feet, but was having trouble gaining his composure.

"NOW!" Ginta barked out, getting impatient. Suddenly the two bandits that he been standing in the back watching the scene in fear scrambled forward, hooking their arms around their leader and dragging him off into the night. Ginta watched them retreat, satisfied that they would not be back. Then he slowly turned to face Kagome, who was still clinging to his tense form.

"Sorry." She muttered slightly embarrassed as she let him go.

"Don't be, I was out of control and you brought me back to reality. I should be apologizing to you. I didn't mean to upset you or anything." He said as he examined her wounds with his eyes, now that he was given a chance to properly do so. "Thanks Kagome." He added. "**Plus, it wasn't entirely unpleasant having her arms around me once again... after her absence. I really did miss her." **Speaking of which...

"Kagome... What are you doing back here? You're supposed to be with Inuyasha." He questioned, silently leading her over to the place where he perched to watch over the lands.

"**Now I know why this place looks so familiar..." **Kagome thought. "**This is where Kenji took me the last night I was here. Funny that this is the place I happened to rejoin Ginta again..." **

"Kagome, are you okay?" He said with concern, noticing her blank stare.

"Yeah, I'm fine. This has all just been a little much for me." She gave a comforting smile as she spoke, happy to be back with him again. "I'm not really sure how to explain this, but I just had to leave Inuyasha. You made a mistake in handing me over to him, Ginta. I should never have left in the first place."

"What do you mean? That's the only way I know how to help you Kagome. The only option is to send you away from here. If you stay, there is nothing that I can do." He confessed, sadness tainting his voice. He wanted to be stronger for her, but he wasn't. Compared to Kouga he was weak, and to challenge him would only serve to make him angry. What good would that do but to make things worse for her? That wasn't solving the problem, it was just making it worse.

"You shouldn't worry about it anymore Ginta. I know that you promised to protect me -and that is really sweet- but I came back because I wanted to." A short silence spread over the two of them, and she added. "I want to be here." Ginta's face took on a deep look of shock and pain, but she couldn't figure out why for the life of her.

"So... You have changed you mind about Kouga then?" He noticed a look of confusion written across her angelic features, so he continued. "You came back here to be with him." He finished with sadness and finality. "**I should be happy." **He thought to himself. "**This is what I wanted right? For her to find happiness. Hell, it was my personal mission to make sure that she found contentment here. I just never thought it would hurt so much..." **He was pulled out of his thoughts by her delicate hand winding itself together with his own. So she had noticed his discomfort? "**She must find me so pathetic. She must know how I feel. I am making it painfully obvious by sulking the way I am. I just can't help it."**

"Ginta, I came back here... to be with you."

Ginta swore his heart had stopped beating. **"Did she really just say that?" **He thought to himself. A blush stained his cheeks, and he turned his head in hopes that he wouldn't see it.

"Tell me Ginta. What would happen to you if Kouga came back and found out that I wasn't here?" She asked softly. Ginta hung his head for a moment, realizing what she was getting at.

"Kagome, that's not important. What matters is what he is planning to do to _you _when he gets back. You told me to forget it... Well I can't. I won't. I gave you over to Inuyasha for your own good. You shouldn't have come back here."

"Well I am here now, and I am not leaving." She replied defiantly. Ginta couldn't help but crack a smile. Her audacity was one of the things that he loved about her -even in times like this- when it shone through proudly.

"I'm not looking forward to dealing with Kouga." Kagome added. "But at least he won't kill _me. _I couldn't live with myself just running off while he punished you for something I did."

"But, Kagome..." She scooted closer to him and leaned against his side, pressing herself closer to him.

"Whatever happens, I can handle it. Let's just spend the time that we have left together."

"**What can I say to that? It's all I've ever wanted... just knowing she wants to be with me." **He tentatively wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her close as he reveled in the feeling. He sighed as she relaxed into him, and he couldn't help but wonder when things had started to change. Just a few days ago he had felt so lonely and awkward. Now, he was actually starting to get closer to her. Could she know how he felt? He had tried to keep it a secret -especially from her- but it had to be obvious. Even Hakkaku had known something was up with him. Kagome yawned, and Ginta realized how late it was. **"She must have had a long night."**

"Do you want me to take you back to the Den?" He offered. He would certainly miss her company, but he wanted her to be comfortable.

"It's okay. I would rather stay out here with you a little longer." She replied. Ginta audibly gulped when she leaned her head onto his shoulder. Her face was only inches from his neck, and he could feel her warm breath faintly tickling his throat.

"God I've missed you Kagome." He whispered gently, then gasped when he realized that he had said it out loud. Kagome stared up at him for a moment, before giggling at his light blush.

"And I thought you didn't want me here any longer." She taunted playfully.

"I wish that you would have stayed with Inuyasha, but not because I don't want you here." He replied. "I love spending time with you. I just don't want it to end." He admitted. It made him very heavy-hearted to think about her fate.

"You know, I missed you too Ginta. Something about being away just didn't feel right. I could feel my conscience nagging at me for what I was doing. Here you were, being the greatest friend that I could ask for, and I was leaving you out in the cold. This was not even your problem to get involved in."

He took in her words, not sure what to say. He was glad that she considered him a friend, but was a little hurt by the fact that that was her reasoning for returning. If he hadn't befriended her, would she have returned at all? She would have stayed away had he just kept his feelings in check and given her the cold shoulder. Hell, had he kept his feelings in check in the first place Hakkaku never would have known his predicament, and he would not have been appointed to watch over her. He felt his guilt wash away when he gazed down at her, sleepily resting her head against his shoulder. **"I feel so bad for wanting this. She's in danger here... but it feels so good to have her in my arms." **

"When I first came here, I was a wreck. I was totally freaked out, and I felt really out of place." She spoke softly. "But you... You helped me through it. You showed me kindness, and walked me through everything. I know it must have been a pain, but it meant a lot to me. You have already done so much Ginta, and I can't ask for anymore. This is my sacrifice to make to Kouga, not yours. He's not after you."

"But, are you really willing to give yourself over to him?" Ginta queried.

Kagome felt her eyes beginning to water, being brought to the full extent of what her return entailed. She wanted to shout "No!" from the mountaintops, and never have to face him again, but she had made the decision herself. This time, she wasn't being held here against her will. It's not like she wasn't given a choice. She had made a decision, and she was going to stick with it. "If it's what I have to do, then... yes." She said shakily.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you..." He responded, noticing her lack of composure.

"It's okay. In a strange way, it's comforting knowing that I did the right thing." She blinked away her tears, and glanced up at him, smiling a smile of true happiness and peace.

"**I wish you wouldn't do this for me Kagome." **Ginta thought to himself. He would rather she be angry with him the way Inuyasha had been, and march out of here forever. But that wasn't happening anytime soon and he knew it. He decided to take her advice, and savor their time left together while he still had it. Time wasn't up yet, and he was not going to waste any more of it tormenting himself.

Kagome had told Ginta all about what had occured during her absence, as Ginta was curious to know how she had sustained her injuries.

"**He really does fuss over me a lot." **She thought, remembering the way that he had cared for her when she first arrived. Then there were the bandits that he nearly slaughtered for harming her, had she not stepped in and put an end to it. **"I wonder what's gotten into him." **

Ginta would not have believed that he would ever be here some day, holding his love so closely and sharing precious moments like these. Just a few days ago this was nothing more than a fantasy, and now it had come to life. **"If only we were a real, legitimate couple." **He mused. **"We could be together, and I would be able to tell her how I felt. Maybe then instead of her belonging to Kouga, she could belong to me." **He was sure his heartbeat was hammering in his chest as he imagined what it would be like to kiss her. She was so close, and it would be so easy... but that would only serve to further complicate this already out of control situation. **"Then again, what could it hurt? How many more rules could I possibly break? I am in love with my leader's mate to be... is one kiss really going to make a difference?" **He tried to reason. He knew it was wrong, but he wanted it so bad. Plus, she had come back here to be with him. Was that a sign that she possibly felt something more than friendship towards him?

"Ginta, do you regret being the one to take care of me? I mean, it has to be hard to get dragged into this big of a mess." Kagome said, ripping him from his thoughts and she straightened up to look him in the eye. "I normally wouldn't ask, but it's really been bothering me lately, and I just have to know." She finished. He paused, but he finally glanced up and locked his eyes on hers. His orbs were shining with so much emotion that she nearly gasped.

"I don't regret a single moment of it." He replied definitively. "Don't ever talk like that Kagome. It hurts when you don't think I care, because I do. More than you could know." Her face was only inches from his, and now her eyes were swimming with almost as much emotion as his. She noticed that he was blushing again, and this time... she was too.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. **"What is this feeling?" **She wondered. Where had these butterflies in her stomach come from?

"Don't be." He whispered in return, getting even closer.

Kagome's heartbeat began to race as he finished closing the distance between them. Was he really going to kiss her?

A moment later all these thoughts were out the window as Ginta placed his lips gently over hers in a tender kiss. Kagome was rightfully shocked at first, but she slowly began to respond to him, earning a throaty groan from him in the process. Where he got the confidence to kiss her he didn't know, but he was certainly glad that he did. Never had anything made him feel so alive before. Her eye lids fluttered closed as she got used to the feeling, and the seemingly innocent kiss quickly grew in passion. She felt as if her body was melting into his own, and that each of their essences were merging into one existence. She gingerly tilted her head to the side, opening up for him and allowing him better access. He took the opportunity to deepen the kiss and delved his tongue into her awaiting mouth, exploring every part of her presented to him. She softly moaned at the sensation, and timidly ran her own tongue over his fangs, before he intertwined his tongue with her own in a needy fashion. Kagome felt like she was on fire- never had she experienced feelings like this- and all from a simple kiss! She ran her fingers delicately up over his shoulders, and clasped her hands tightly behind his neck. His hands were bracing him, each extended down at her sides, encaging her in his presence. He decided to use one hand to pull her closer to him, placing her delicately in his lap during the process. The explosive sensations running through Ginta's body had multiplied exponentially, and when she leaned into him even farther, he knew it was time to break the kiss. His body had begun to react to the kiss, and he hadn't meant to take it that far. He reluctantly pulled away, opening his eyes to scan Kagome's face. hey both breathed deeply as they were finally able to obtain an adequate amount of air, and Kagome peeled her own eyes open to examine the situation. Her glassy orbs were still glazed over with passion, and hints of emotion peeked through. She could not believe that Ginta had just kissed her, and the feelings that it evoked within her were still so new to her.

"I"m sorry Kagome." Ginta apologized, suddenly very aware of her confusion. "I just couldn't help myself. I needed to know what it was like, just once before it was too late." He said, ashamed.

"Don't be sorry Ginta." Kagome said, surprising him as she leaned up and planted her lips firmly against his own. He responded quickly, unable to resist the temptation, but she broke the kiss before it could grow into anything more serious. **"I can see how you feel about me, just by looking in your eyes." **She thought. With Ginta, she felt cared for and appreciated; not used, like she did with Kouga. She felt like she was more than just a piece of meat. She felt... loved. And truth be told, she was starting to harbor these feelings for him herself. She let him hold her for a moment longer, still sitting on his lap. He breathed in her scent deeply, thinking about how nice it would be to hold her like this every night. **"I never want to let you go Kagome. I'm so deeply in love with you. If only you knew." **He pushed a loose strand of hair away from her face gingerly.

"Could you take me back to the Den now? I think I could use a little sleep."

Ginta smiled. "Of course Kagome." He gathered her up in his arms bridal style, gazing at her tenderly as she yawned and laid her cheek gently across his chest. She had dozed by the time he reached Kouga's room, and he gently laid her down on the furs, taking care not to wake her. With a gentle kiss to her cheek he was gone.

"**Kagome..." **Ginta was re-living the evening back at his post. **"I can't believe I kissed her. But, it felt so right. Tomorrow, I think Iwill tell her how I feel. She has to know, and it will do me a world of good to get it off my chest. Tomorrow I will get everything off my chest for good."**

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Well this was very rushed, and the writing is not my best... But I am on my way out of town in just a few hours and have yet to pack. Typical. I just couldn't leave this chapter alone (not after all the waiting I made you do) and I needed to progress that story line just a teensy bit. I thought a good kiss was the best way to do it. : ) Well, I hope you all enjoyed! I am already looking at revising this chapter, so let me know if you liked it, or if you think it needs some sprucing up. I just barely scanned for errors, so there may be a few hidden here and there.

Thanks and if you have any comments or criticism, please review!


	12. The last sunset

I know... It's been a long time. I won't go into detail, but life has been very demanding recently and I put my writing on the back burner there for a while. I don't know what prompted me to write this, but let me know what you think. I just jotted this down really quickly, and have yet do any proofreading. I just wanted to put a rush on this chapter. Let me know what you think. :)

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"Ginta? What a surprise, I haven't seen you awake this early in ages." Hakkaku said as he glanced up at his brother, who jauntily bounced into the cave with a slain rabbit slung over his shoulder. Hakkaku couldn't miss the extra bounce in his step, or the goofy grin that had been plastered across his face ever since he came in from guard duty last night.

"I want to have breakfast cooked by the time Kagome wakes up. I don't want her to wait on me." He replied casually, beginning to prepare his kill. Hakkaku watched as he started a fire, and began to roast the freshly skinned meat. He observed the fact that his brother paid very careful attention to the meal, making sure that it was perfect down to the last detail. "**Never have I seen him put so much work into a single meal." **Hakkaku thought suspiciously. **"And why does it seem that he is unable to wipe that stupid grin off his face? He's been acting so strange lately." **Hakkaku wondered just where his comrades sudden change of attitude had come from. Ginta had begun to inspect the meat further, making sure that it was thoroughly cooked.

"Is there any particular reason that you're working so hard on that dish?" Hakkaku questioned. "There wouldn't be anyone in particular that you're trying to impress now, would there?" He ventured boldly.

"Of course not." Ginta deadpanned. "I'm just making breakfast, don't read too much into it." He replied as he brushed off his brother's comments casually. Truth be told, he was hoping to show Kagome some affection by providing for her. He knew that she wasn't the type to judge based on something like that, but he couldn't help himself. He was interested in her romantically, and it was only natural for him to feel a need to prove himself. He wanted to show her that he could care for her, but more importantly he wanted to show her that he cared _about_ her. "There, almost done." He said, rotating the spit and putting the finishing touches on the food.

Hakkaku smiled knowingly. "Just be careful what you get yourself into, Ginta. You know that you're playing a dangerous game here." Rather than protest, Ginta chose to stare deeply into the flames. "**I know. But I just can't stop." **He thought silently, finally removing the roasted meal from the fire and setting it aside. "I know what I'm doing." He replied carefully, trying to force the fear and uncertainty out of his voice.

Hakkaku knew that Ginta was digging himself into a hole, but before he could say anything further Kagome entered the room, stretching and yawning as she made her way into the main den. He greeted her casually, then decided to take his leave. He knew that Ginta had a lot to deal with, and he wanted to hold up his end of the deal and give them as much time together as possible. He glanced back just in time to see Ginta present the girl with her meal, and a warming smile spread across her face as she gratefully accepted it. He stifled the knowing grin that threatened to grace his features, although it didn't really matter. Ginta was being so attentive to Kagome that he wouldn't have noticed it anyways.

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"Honestly Inuyasha, we leave you alone for a few hours and we come back to find that kagome is -once again- missing!" Sango yelled in a rage.

"You don't understand Sango... the things she said... she doesn't want to be here anymore. Not with me." He replied in shame and anger. "I know that I haven't been a very good friend to her."

"Well you're not being a very good friend to her now either." Miroku argued "I understand her loyalty to the wolves she's befriended during her stay with the wolf clan, but that doesn't mean that she isn't in danger there. Did you even consider that we could offer her some back up? Maybe that way no one has to get hurt." He finished.

"Except Kouga, that is." Sango added. Miroku nodded in agreement. They were both hungry for revenge and they wouldn't settle for anything less than a good beating.

A look of realization passed Inuyasha's features as he considered what Miroku was saying. It's true, he could allow her to stay with the wolves and still offer protection to Kagome, now that he knew where the den was located. He was most likely the only one strong enough to defend her from Kouga as it was. It would still hurt that she didn't want to be with him, but it wouldn't hurt as bad as knowing that something horrible had happened to her while he stood idly by. He sighed, realizing that he was -once again- wrong. "Well, what exactly do you have in mind?" He asked. "What's your plan of attack?"

Inuyasha's curiosity grew as he noticed the devious smiles on Sango and Miroku's faces. He had no doubt that they had something good in store.

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Kagome and Ginta had spent the entire day together. He took her to visit all of his favorite places around the territory, and just as the sun began to set he decided to take her back to the bluff that he had shown her when she first arrived.

"I'm so glad you showed me this place." Kagome was dangling her legs over the side, gazing out across the scenery. "It's really gorgeous." She added. Ginta nodded in agreement, but remained -for the most part- silent. Kagome noticed that he looked a little nervous, but she couldn't put her finger on the reason why. Was he still uneasy about the kiss he gave her last night? **"That can't be the problem." **She thought quickly.** "He's been really affectionate today. It almost feels as if we're dating or something."** She blushed at the thought, wondering what it would be like to have him as a boyfriend. He was a perfect gentleman, and when it came to her he had a gentleness to him that she had really come to appreciate. It was a stark contrast to the way she had been treated both by Inuyasha and Kouga.

Ginta directed his gaze to Kagome, noticing that she had gotten quiet. He felt that he hadn't been very good company, but considering all that he had on his mind it was difficult to be entertaining. He noticed the slight pink tinge that her cheeks held, and wondered if it was just the heat, or if she were thinking about him as much as he had been thinking about her. **"Should I tell her? Is the timing right?" **He wondered. He wanted nothing more than to tell her how he felt about her, while he still had the time that is. But to say that he was anxious about the way she would react was an understatement.

He decided to test the waters by putting his arm around her shoulders. She relaxed into him, and he felt his heartbeat begin to accelerate slightly. **"So far, so good." **He thought, mentally breathing a sigh of relief.

"Ginta, can I ask you something?" Kagome inquired softly. Ginta gazed down at her, wondering why she looked so forlorn all of a sudden."Anything." He replied.

"What's my life going to be like after... you know. I mean, will we still be able to see each other?"

"No. Not like this anyways." He responded. "Kouga is a very protective man, and with you as his mate he would never allow it. He would have my head if I so much as looked at you the wrong way." Her demeanor changed instantly, and he tried to comfort her. "H-hey I mean, we'll still see each other around, I'm sure. Kouga does consider me to be his right hand man after all..." He backpedaled, not wanting to upset her.

"I just don't want things to change." Kagome said sadly. "Why can't things just stay this way forever?" She admitted that it sounded a bit childish and idealistic, but she knew that Ginta would understand where she was coming from. Her hugged her tenderly to himself and whispered, "Me too, Kagome." Before resting his chin gently on top of her head.

Kagome had been confused about their situation ever since last night, when he surprised her with a kiss. He obviously had some kind of feelings for her. She was having trouble deciphering her own emotions dealing with Ginta. At first it was an admittedly uneasy relationship between them, given her situation and her reason for being here. But with the kindness he showed her, they quickly developed a mutual friendship. Now she wasn't sure what to think. He had been showering her with attention, and there was a certain _something_ else there.

"Kagome, can I tell you something?" Ginta asked nervously, suddenly pulling away from her a little and twiddling his thumbs. He was starting to have second thoughts about confessing his love for her, wondering how she would respond, or how that would affect things when Kouga came back. **"I have to say something..." **He knew she was probably wondering about his behavior recently. He wanted her to know that he kissed her out of love and not lust. He didn't want her to think that he was using her. Plus, it would feel so good to get everything off his chest for good.

"What is it Ginta?" Kagome asked, taking notice of his nervousness. Ginta inhaled deeply **"It's now or never." **Another day was coming to a close and Kouga's return was getting nearer every moment. He glanced down his love interest to see her still gazing intently at him. She had a look of concern and innocence written across her features, and he relaxed a little knowing that she was listening without judgement. He knew he could tell her anything.

"I, um... I thi-"

"Ginta!" He was interrupted.

**"Damn it!" **Ginta mentally cursed. He gave a nod of apology to Kagome, then glanced up to see Hakkaku running towards him at a full sprint. He had been so focused on Kagome that he didn't even notice his brother approaching. "What the Hell is it Hakkaku?" He practically growled. "Can't this wait?" He grit out as he gestured to the still confused and rather concerned looking Kagome. She had been waiting patiently to hear what he had to say, and the tension had been building. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was troubling him.

"No, it can't." Hakkaku replied definitively. He opened his mouth to speak, but then he closed it as he looked back and forth from Ginta to Kagome. He decided that it would be better to break the news to Ginta one on one, and let the poor sap take things from there. "Can I speak to you in private for a moment?" He requested earnestly, but with a hint of urgency tainting his voice as well.

Ginta looked unhappy, but decided it was best to comply. **"Something's wrong..." **He deduced from Hakkaku's behavior. He looked to Kagome as he prepared to stand, and gingerly touched her knee, uttering a tender, "I'll be back in a moment." The affectionate action did not go unnoticed by Hakkaku, who cleared his throat in an attempt to draw Ginta's attention. The wolf demon removed himself from the girl's presence and followed Hakkaku to a secluded area nearby.

"Now just what the hell is so important?" Ginta demanded. "Can't you see that me and Kagome were-"

"Stop it." Hakkaku interjected. "Stop it now. Don't think I haven't noticed what's been going on between you two! Ginta, you promised..."

"I know, but it's just... Well things have changed." He muttered apologetically. Deep down he knew that he was wrong, and that everything was his fault for not keeping his feelings in check, but it was beyond his control now.

"Yeah, well things are about to change _a lot_ more." Hakkaku added sarcastically. "We've received word from a messenger from the Northern lands today. Ginta, Kouga is coming home early. He'll be here _tomorrow._" He finished sorrowfully. He watched Ginta's face fall as he received the news. "Ginta, you knew this couldn't go on forever. You knew this was a short term thing... And we _all _ know that Kouga isn't exactly a patient man. Honestly, what did you expect?"

"I was supposed to have three more days... We, _we_ were supposed to have three more days." Ginta was stricken with disbelief. Yes, he knew this couldn't last forever, but to have their time cut short like this was entirely unfair. Why were the fates so cruel?

"Go to her and break the news." Hakkaku all but commanded. "Say your goodbyes, and prepare her in whatever way you can." Ginta swallowed hard, knowing this would be difficult. "But whatever you do, keep your foolish emotions to yourself- before you hurt the poor girl." He added sternly. "Kouga will do enough of that I'm sure." And with that Hakkaku was gone, taking his leave to get the rest of the territory in order before their Prince's arrival. Ginta felt utterly broken by the news, and he sunk to the ground as he tried to gather his thoughts.

**"Kagome..."**

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Kagome stayed glued to the spot where Ginta had left her, a little shaken up and unsure of herself. **"What had he been trying to say? And where was all of this sudden tension coming from?"**It had been a while since he left her, but she was content to sit here and enjoy the scenic view while she awaited his return. Flowers were blooming and the greenery had returned with a beautiful intensity. She could hear the cheerful chirp of birds concealed within the lush treetop canopies. Spring was here.

Before long she sensed Ginta's presence, and looked to the edge of the clearing. He was slowly but surely approaching, and he looked even more bothered than before. She stood and lightly jogged towards him, and he caught her in a comforting embrace.

"Ginta, what's wrong?" She asked gingerly as she noticed the worrisome look on his face. He gripped her upper arms lightly and looked into her eyes, which showed nothing but concern for him.

**"This is going to be harder than I thought...." **He sighed. "You may want to sit back down for this."

She muttered a soft 'okay' and returned to sit where she had been previously. Ginta had dropped his grip from her arms to her delicate hands, but refused to let go.

"Kagome, Kouga will be here tomorrow. It turns out we don't have as much time as we thought." He blurted out. He decided it was better to just be blunt about it and not beat around the bush. "We must say our goodbyes tonight, and tomorrow we have to pretend that none of this ever happened." He gazed upon her angelic face, and noted with misplaced guilt that her eyes were sparkling with unshed tears.

"I-it's so soon." She choked out. She wiped her eyes, and offered a hurried apology. "I'm sorry, I just never expected it would be so soon." He pulled her closer and hugged her to himself, her cheek pressed against the skin of his collarbone.

"It'll be alright Kagome. Kouga will be a strong and loyal mate." He consoled. "And while things cannot be the same between us, I'll always be your friend." Kagome sobbed silently against his chest. **"I know why I'm doing this. I have to stop. I have to face this head on." **She sniffled and apologized again with sweet sincerity.

"Kagome, this is not your fault you know- and I must say that you are being very brave. If you decide to change your mind, it's not too late to get out of here." He reminded. She immediately shook her head against his chest,

"No. I've made up my mind and I'm not going back on my word now." She stated with determination.

"Well then, there's something that you must know." He continued, putting a little more space in between them. "He'll expect certain things of you... submission mostly. He is very demanding and commands authority." He informed.

"Okay." She conceded. "I think I can handle that. As much as I'll hate it, I'll cooperate." She suppressed her anger, and sighed deeply.

"And he'll want to get right to business, if you know what I mean. He's going to expect to... _bed_ you tomorrow night." He added with a detectable hint of disdain.

"Hn." She nodded, averting her gaze to the ground below. He couldn't help but notice the steady increase of her heart beat. She was nervous, and rightfully so.

"I know this isn't what you want to hear right now, but it might do you some good... Well, to be blunt, Kouga is pretty stupid. He can be manipulated fairly easily- if you work with him, I mean. There are some things that are set in stone, but not everything. I do it all the time myself." He consoled. She didn't look too elated, so he added, "It won't be all bad."

"Easy for you to say." She pouted, then smiled jokingly. He knew it was a front, but he was glad to have the distraction. "So is there anything else I should know?" She inquired, pretending to be okay with the situation for the time being.

"Well, wolf demon culture is undoubtedly very different from yours, but all of that will come in time. Kouga won't expect you to abide by all the wolf demon rules at first, and he'll help you figure things out." She nodded. She knew she'd never feel prepared, and it wasn't helping her mood any to keep talking about it.

Kagome leaned into Ginta, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He blushed lightly, but didn't hesitate to hug her back. "I'm going to miss you." She whispered.

"I told you, we'll still see each other around..." He assured her.

"Yeah, but not like this. I'm just going to miss it is all."

He hugged her tighter and nestled his nose within her ebony locks, inhaling her scent and memorizing every minute detail. **"She's right." **He thought. **"Nothing will be the same." **But as much as he hated to admit it, this was better than nothing, and he would take what he could get.

"Ginta? What was it that you were going to tell me earlier?" She inquired. She had forgotten all about it amidst everything else, but it had seemed pretty important to him at the time.

"Oh, uh... nevermind about that. It's not important anymore." He said blushing a little at her question, although she couldn't understand why for the life of her. She shrugged it off and decided to curl up and watch the sunset with him for the last time.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Keep going and finish it up? Or is this story DOA? Hm... It's been so long since I started this story that I'm not sure what to do with it. Well, let me know what you think. I should be able to crank out a last chapter or two in the next few days if everyone wants to see it. :) Again, I apologize.


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